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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26514487">The Pirate Queen</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/RobinRoost/pseuds/RobinRoost'>RobinRoost</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Legends: Jedi Apprentice Series - Jude Watson &amp; Dave Wolverton, Star Wars Prequel Trilogy, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Space Pirates, But lets be honest, Cody is very done, Coincidences Galore, Female Obi-Wan Kenobi, Found Family, Hondo found and adopted her, Mace Windu is So Done, Obi-Wan never came back to the jedi after Melida/Daan, Obi-Wan was already a pro at being dramatic, Qui-Gon Jinn Lives, Slow Burn, and trains Anakin, no beta we die like men, rasing her in the ways of pirating and dramatics, slightly cracky</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-09-17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-03-24</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 03:33:31</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>37,937</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26514487</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/RobinRoost/pseuds/RobinRoost</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Obi-Wan was abandoned in a war zone with child soldiers. After peace was declared by the Young, she was again exiled. A certain Weequay happened to find this lost child and decided he was going to raise her as his pirate protégé.</p><p>20 years later, the Negotiator with her Firebird crew are legends. The Pirate Queen is known far and wide. Even Hutts don't dare cross her. The Republic would like an alliance, and send the 212th and 501st under Generals Skywalker and Jinn, the infamous former Master Padawan Duo. Cody thinks that all this fuss over a no good scoundrel is pointless. Anakin is starstruck as he is about to meet his childhood hero, and Qui-Gon can't seem to shake this foreboding feeling about the identity of this masked pirate.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Aayla Secura &amp; Feemor &amp; Darth Maul &amp; Obi-Wan Kenobi &amp; Quinlan Vos &amp; Siri Tachi, Aayla Secura &amp; Quinlan Vos, CC-2224 | Cody/Obi-Wan Kenobi, Feemor &amp; Mace Windu, Feemor &amp; Obi-Wan Kenobi, Obi-Wan Kenobi &amp; Darth Maul, Obi-Wan Kenobi &amp; Hondo Ohnaka, Obi-Wan Kenobi &amp; Quinlan Vos, Obi-Wan Kenobi &amp; Siri Tachi, Qui-Gon Jinn &amp; Anakin Skywalker</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>470</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>1599</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>Jedi Journals</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Cody watched General Jinn closely. He seemed strangely pensive about whatever this new mission assignment was. It was clear something about it was bothering him. He opened his mouth to ask about it, but General Skywalker and Commander Tano walked in before he could even utter a word. </p><p>“Alrighty boys, and girl,” Skywalker added after a glance at his padawan. General Skywalker seemed normal, if not excited, so that was a good sign. “The council has tasked us with tracking down a few pirates.”</p><p>A clone trooper in the back (was that Jesse?) groaned. Cody agreed with the sentiment. There were battles to be fought and planets to save, but they were off hunting an outer rim gang?</p><p>“Sir, with all due respect, aren’t we a little overqualified to track down some thugs?” Probably-Jesse asked. Skywalker snorted. </p><p>“Jesse, for the first time, we might be under qualified for this mission,” Skywalker stated, and the whole mood of the room suddenly shifted. Cody knew for a fact that Skywalker almost never admitted defeat or weakness, so this must be important. “We have been asked to hunt down the Negotiator.”</p><p>Cody’s brain paused as he tried to comprehend what Skywalker had just said. He couldn’t remember who it was exactly, but clearly some of his men did, judging on the murmurs in the room.</p><p>“Permission to speak freely?” Rex asked. </p><p>Skywalker nodded. </p><p>“Why are we tracking down the Pirate Queen?” </p><p>The Pirate Queen? This was just getting better. What was he missing here?</p><p>It was Jinn who answered. “Because the Chancellor has reason to believe that she could be a possible ally to the Republic. She leaves clones alive.”</p><p>That shocked the room into silence. Cody tried to organize everything in his mind, but nothing was really making sense. Why would a renowned pirate save clones?</p><p>That question stuck in his head for the rest of the briefing as Skywalker and Jinn explained the plan. Their first destination would be at Hondo Ohnaka’s base on Florrum, as he claimed to have some connection to her. They would go from there to track her down. As they hunted, they would do inspections of various outposts, so they could have a good excuse for traveling around the galaxy without blowing up separatists.</p><p>It still didn’t answer any of his question about who this pirate was.</p><p>“Sirs, if I may,” Cody interjected. “Who exactly is the Negotiator?”</p><p>Skywalker looked at him strangely. “You don’t know?” </p><p>General Jinn put a hand on his shoulder. </p><p>“Anakin, not everyone has had much exposure to outer rim culture as you have,” he reprimanded gently. General Skywalker stiffened slightly at that, but didn’t comment on it. Instead he turned back to Cody, and Cody could immediately sense that Skywalker was about to go off.</p><p>“You know Rex called her the Pirate Queen, correct?” Cody nodded. “The Negotiator is sort of an Outer Rim underworld Monarch. She probably holds more sway than the Hutts themselves, given that she forced them to free their slaves.”Skywalker was practically going starry-eyed as he continued to talk. “She leads a crew called the Firebirds, which is one of the most exclusive pirate groups.”</p><p>Jinn spoke up. “The point is that she is untouchable. Honestly I am surprised the Chancellor recognized that, because most coreworlders don’t realize how astonishing that is. In the Outer Rim, anyone who takes a shot at that woman is dealt with swiftly before they can even beg for mercy. They call her Queen for a reason. If we can get her on our side, it could very well change the tide of the war effort.”</p><p>Skywalker nodded in agreement. “Be forewarned though,” he urged. “In the fifteen years she has been pirating, not many Jedi or Republic forces have crossed paths with her or her crew, so we aren’t exactly sure how they will react. In fact, we don’t know anything about them besides what they leave behind.”</p><p>“So, we don't have a physical description?” Cody asked. Skywalker pursed his lips.</p><p>“Yes… and no. They all wear identical masks, except the Negotiator’s is lined with gold. The Firebirds are equally as dangerous as their captain. By most counts, there are only six of them total, but each is a force to be reckoned with. We do know that most of them are humanoid, and have one confirmed twi’lek with them,” the General explained.</p><p>Cody nodded, taking in all the information. Now this made a little more sense. Hunting down a high profile pirate leader with an elite group of followers and protection from almost every other person in the underworld to ask them to aid the Republic couldn’t be that hard, right?</p><p>-----------------------------------------------------------------</p><p>Obi-Wan groaned as someone kept loudly knocking on her bedroom door.</p><p>“Quinlan Vos, I swear to the force, this better be good, or I will not hesitate to part your head from your shoulders,” she muttered as she buried her head in her hands. </p><p>“Aw, Obes, you would never do that to me. You love me far too much,” Quinlan grinned as he entered. Obi-Wan raised an eyebrow. “And this time it is important!”</p><p>Judging by the fact about the fact he was practically bouncing on the balls of his feet and the force feeling restless around him, he had something he wanted to say. For the love of the Force.</p><p>Obi-Wan sighed. “If this is about the Nexu kitten,” she started, but Quinlan cut her off.</p><p>“Not at all! This is about the separatists! From the intercepted message, they plan on attacking the little Republic outpost on Rishi in a few days,” Quinlan blurted. “There are max 7 clones there, and they are using commando droids.”</p><p>Obi-Wan blinked. This could be fantastic. They had been trying to nab commando droids for a while. Her pirate gang onboard her flagship, the Memory, was very capable, but numbers were still valuable. They had been supplementing that by stealing Seperatist droids and reprogramming them, though that was more of Feemor’s project than her own. </p><p>Commando droids, if the rumors were true, could be very effective on the field. The lack of clones, the abundance of droids, and the remote location could have quite possibly made this the best place to test the new virus Feemor had been dying to try out. </p><p>Not to mention that Obi-Wan had a side interest that she knew would be able to explore if they made their way to Rishi.</p><p>Obi-Wan let a small smile escape at the thought. “Quinlan, I just remembered that you are my favorite Kiffar and I won’t be giving you to Hondo as his bride,” she said, standing up. Quinlan gasped dramatically.</p><p>“Honestly Obi, you would give me, the sexiest Firebird, to Hondo? After everything I have done for you?” he accused mockingly. </p><p>“Yes,” she deadpanned as she started to move past him. “Better you than me. Ever since everyone started calling me the Pirate Queen, he has been telling me nonstop about ‘legacy’ and how he would make such a good consort.”</p><p>Quinlan burst out laughing, and Obi-Wan glared. Hondo had been her mentor for the first few years of her pirating career, what was it, 20 years ago? 21? She had spent a few years with him, before branching off on her own. </p><p>“Please shut up, or I will reconsider,” she threatened, before leaving and going out into the hallway and to the mess hall where the rest of the crew was waiting. </p><p>The Memory was very utilitarian. As most of its occupants had been raised in the Jedi Temple, they all hadn’t really used decorations often. Instead, they supplemented that with plants. Obi-Wan still remembered the day that they got her ship. The crew had been smaller then. It had been just Quinlan, Feemor, and Obi-Wan against the world. They found Aayla later, and then Siri decided to join up. They had grabbed Maul on Naboo right after that Trade Federation debacle. Poor kid had nearly been sliced in half.</p><p>The name was fitting. Anyone who had known them before only remembered them as distant memories. Now they were the Firebirds. Their pasts were of no consequence unless it had something to do with connections or skills they learned.</p><p>At one point, Obi-Wan had felt terrible about making them give up their dreams as Jedi, but the rest of them assured her that they were far happier going with her than being apart. She reminded herself that it was better this way, but still after 20 years, she missed the temple sometimes. </p><p>Entering the mess hall cut off her musings. Siri Tachi and Aayla Secura waved from their table when she entered, and Feemor inclined his head. His hands were currently occupied by another battle droid he was reprogramming.</p><p>“Your majesty,” Aayla called, standing up to bow deeply. Siri followed suit, and Obi-Wan wanted to shoot both of them between the eyes at that point, or run them through her lightsaber. Sadly, both of them were valuable members of her team.</p><p>“For the last time,” she sighed, and Quinlan’s boisterous laugh filled the room.</p><p>“Obi, when you walk into a Tatooine cantina, everyone stops and bows or does the species equivalent. If a bounty hunter takes a shot at you, they are dead before they can even holster their blaster. You’re underworld royalty. Get used to it,” Siri said, sitting back down. </p><p>“Well, as Queen, I officially decree that from now on, we will save energy by not bowing whenever I come into the room,” Obi-Wan muttered. That just made Quinlan laugh harder.</p><p>“See! Your status as the Pirate Queen is useful,” he exclaimed.</p><p>Obi-Wan would grudgingly admit that much, just not out loud. On one side, her chances of being assassinated had gone down exponentially, but on the other, it was extremely annoying. Obi-Wan had never loved attention and fame. She had certainly never expected to be called a Pirate Queen.</p><p>Suddenly, she realized that her favorite red zabrak was nowhere to be found.</p><p>“Hey, where's Maul?” she asked, looking around. Aayla shrugged.</p><p>“I believe that I am behind you,” Maul called. Obi-Wan turned around and smiled. </p><p>“Good. We have a new target.”</p><p>His black tattoos lifted slightly, but he said no further as he made his way to one of the mess tables. Quinlan followed him, and both sat on the benches. Everyone turned their attention to her expectantly. </p><p>“Well, as Quinlan so graciously brought to my attention, the separatists are planning an attack on the Rishi base so they can attack Kamino,” she started. “They are using commandos, and with minimal clones, this could be our chance to test out that virus you have been working on, Fee.”</p><p>Feemor nodded in acknowledgment, face serene, but his force signature was practically thrumming with excitement. He had taken up mechanics during their free time, and discovered he had a talent for it. She knew he would not pass up this chance.</p><p>“We probably need four people to go. Everyone else can man the Memory while we are gone, trying to pick up leads. Two spots are taken so far. Fee and I are definitely going. We just need two more volunteers,” she explained. </p><p>Quinlan raised an eyebrow. “If you thought you were going anywhere without me, you thought wrong.”</p><p>“That’s one,” Obi-Wan acknowledged. Aayla looked up.</p><p>“If Quinlan is going, someone needs to make sure he doesn’t set himself on fire. I also volunteer,” Aayla announced. Obi-Wan let out a small smile.</p><p>“Alrighty. We move out at the beginning of day cycle tomorrow.” With that, she retreated back to her room to go over the plans. Those droids weren’t going to scrap themselves.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>“Rex, why did you put a rocket launcher on the ship?” Cody asked from the other side of the shuttle. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Rex snorted. He had forgotten about that. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I was thinking we might want it. Given your luck, we should be facing down a whole battalion droids with a surprise attack on the base,” he deadpanned as he climbed into the bottom seat. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Don’t jinx it,” Cody responded dryly. </p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Rex was not excited for the inspections. It was one of his least favorite parts of being part of the GAR. Sadly, in order to have an excuse to be traipsing around the galaxy looking for a pirate, they were doing these visits to all the outposts. Didn’t mean he had to enjoy them, though.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The first stop was the base on Rishi. Looking down the list of clones, it seemed like they were mostly shinies. First assignments one too. Fantastic.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Rex, why did you put a rocket launcher on the ship?” Cody asked from the other side of the shuttle. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Rex snorted. He had forgotten about that. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I was thinking we might want it. Given your luck, we should be facing down a whole battalion droids with a surprise attack on the base,” he deadpanned as he climbed into the bottom seat. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Don’t jinx it,” Cody responded dryly. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Rex watched Cody take out the launcher and put it on a nearby crate. For some strange reason, he felt like he should tell Cody to keep it. Shaking it off, he turned back towards the controls.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Let’s get this over with,” Rex muttered beneath his breath as Cody climbed in behind him. The bay doors sealed, and he started the liftoff sequence. The hyperspace trip shouldn’t be too long. Only a few hours at most. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>As the world became streaked with blue and white, Rex leaned back. The armor made it a little uncomfortable, but he wasn’t going to waste this time to relax. There were no datapads. No di’kut jedi. No shinies to tell off. He was going to take quiet when he could get it. Now to settle in for a nice long nap—</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Rex, would we have to work with the pirates?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Rex, who had been dozing off, jerked up at the sound of Cody’s voice. He barely held in his groan. Cody, oblivious of the terrible atrocity he just committed, barreled on.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I hope not, because pirates are dishonorable. If these firebirds are anything like that weequay in the trench coat, I don’t want to touch that with a twelve foot pole,” Cody continued.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Codes, I don’t think that we will ever have to serve with them,” Rex cut in. “They would have to be hired by the GAR and undergo a background check that would get them arrested.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Cody huffed. “But what if—“ Rex stopped him before that could go any further.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“What if what? This is just to get the Republic more allies, which will end the war faster. I am willing to trade some time with no-good pirates for that.” Maybe that was a little harsher than it needed to be, but Cody did quiet down.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>To be honest, Rex was very curious about these pirates. So little was known, but they had done so much. He wasn’t really sure how that was possible, but apparently they managed. The 501st had heard </span>
  <em>
    <span>all</span>
  </em>
  <span> about the Negotiator. When drunk, General Skywalker waxed poetic about three things: his ‘secret’ wife, the woes of droid rights, and the outer rim pirate who freed the slaves. He wanted to know if the Negotiator really matched up to the stories.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>They flew in silence for the rest of the trip. A warning beep alerted them they were about to reach Rishi. Rex sighed.  </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Exiting hyperspace is 3, 2, 1,” he counted off, and the blue streaks became specks of light as the whole ship gave a shudder. “Ready to meet some shines?” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Just remember that you can’t adopt them,” Cody deadpanned. Rex glared over his shoulder.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s not my fault Prime was a mandalorian and mandalorians need to adopt all the children,” Rex complained. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I doubt the shinies would like it if you called them children,” Cody muttered.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“They’re nine! That’s an ad’ika!” Rex exclaimed. His ori’vod gave him the look.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“You’re eleven. Get over it,” Cody shot back, and with that, they commed the base to inform them of the inspection. “Rishi Outpost, come in.” After a few seconds with no response, Cody tried again. “Rishi Outpost, come in.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Rex turned his attention to the screen as the helmet of a shiny popped up on the screen. “Sorry Commander, um, we are experiencing technical difficulties.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Rex barely kept from rolling his eyes. Technical difficulties, his shoe. More like they were slacking off instead of manning the comms.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“This is the inspection team,” Cody continued. The clone almost visible startled, though his voice was still unnaturally monotone. Something was off.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Inspection?” The clone shook his head. “Negative. Negative. We, uh, do not require an inspection. Everything is fine here. Uh, thank you.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“We’ll be the judge of that. Prepare for our arrival,” Cody ordered. The clone nodded.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Roger roger,” he said, and the connection cut out.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Was that some kind of joke? Military protocol dictated that subordinates respond with a “yes, sir”. Rex would expect that sort of flack from Jesse or Kix, not some fresh-off-kamino shiny. From his experience, it took weeks for them to acclimate into the relaxed regs of the 501st, but even the most experienced of soldiers would never say that to </span>
  <em>
    <span>Marshall Commander Cody</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Something’s not right here,” Rex said aloud, turning back towards Cody. His vod had a smirk on his face, and Rex sighed internally.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Well good luck,” Cody said cheerfully. “I’m putting you in charge of this one.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Sometimes Rex really despised his brother. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>As they got near the outpost, his bad feeling grew. No one was there. Rex just tried to write it off as bad form. Maybe they were just coming out to greet them or they just couldn’t see him yet. His gut said otherwise as they exited the shuttle. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“This is not good,” Rex said, trying to refocus on the inspection. “I can’t see the deck officer anywhere.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>The hairs on the back of his neck were prickling. An anxious feeling started to flutter in his stomach. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Calm down</span>
  </em>
  <span>, he hissed to himself. Nothing was wrong. Sparing a glimpse at Cody, his brother was glancing left and right. So he felt on edge too.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“These boys are sloppy,” Cody commented, voice perfectly even. “There should always be an officer on deck.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>It was far too open on the platform, and Rex tried to stamp down the unease that came with it. Ahead of them, the door to the base opened up, revealing an unmarked trooper. The clone’s movements were jerky and slightly uncoordinated. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I have a bad feeling about this,” Cody muttered. Both of them subtly raised their blasters as the shiny got closer. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Welcome to Rishi, Commander,” the shiny said. “As you can see, the outpost is operating at peak efficiency. And thank you for visiting, and have a safe trip back.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Rex and Cody shared a look. The trooper’s movements were too large, and his voice perfectly even. That wasn’t even mentioning that the trooper wasn’t carrying his blaster. Something was wrong. Very wrong. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“We need to inspect the base just the same.” They both started advancing, and the shiny backed up but didn’t get out of their way, raising his hands as if to stop them.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Ah, there is no need,” the clone continued. “Everything is fine and fully operational.” He gestured back to the shuttle, as if telling them to leave. If not for the sinking feeling in his gut, Rex would have rolled his eyes. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Take us to the Sergeant in Command,” he ordered. The clone nodded.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Roger Roger!” Rex looked back at Cod, before a red light filled the sky. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“A droid attack flare?” Cody asked, but Rex was already moving. The ‘clone’ fell to the ground with a blaster bolt straight through the head.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Rex!” Cody yelped. “What the heck are you doing?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Relax,” Rex said as he knelt down by the body. He slipped off the helmet revealing a face of a commando droid. “Just as I thought. Looks like one of those new commando droids.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>It didn’t take long for Cody to put the pieces into place. “The flare must have come from the survivors.” Before they could say another word, red blaster bolts filled the air. Commando droids appeared on all sides from behind crates and boxes. Rex started returning fire and he felt Cody do the same. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Ambush!” Rex exclaimed. Cody snorted as they retreated to cover.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“You know, maybe you should rename yourself to Captain Obvious! Might suit you better.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Not many people realized this, but Cody could be really snarky.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Less talking, more shooting,” Rex growled, but Cody wasn’t done.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“You know, I blame you for jinxing us,” he continued as he kept on firing. Cody hit one of the commando droids twice, knocking it over, but it got back up and kept shooting. “Ah! Those clankers have tough armor!”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>They finally found some cover between a few boxes. There was no way to get to the shuttle from here. They were cut off, and Rex said as much.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Thanks again, Captain Obvious! I hadn’t noticed!” Cody snarked as he fired another headshot. The door of the base opened up again, and two more commando droids carrying grenades in both hands appeared. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Off the platform!” Rex yelled. He and Cody both jumped, firing their ascension cables as they fell. As they hung in the air, their cables rattled as explosions shook the platform. The explosions quieted, and the footsteps of the commando droids were heard retreating. Lowering themselves to the ground, Rex tried to figure out their next course of action. He opened his mouth to say something, but stopped when he noticed a foreign ship next to a piece of flaming debris.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Through the smoke, two cloaked figures appeared.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Hello there!” One of them called.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“What the--” Rex started, before one of them raised their blasters and there was a flash of blue, and all was dark.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>----------------------------------------------------------</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Quin!” Obi-Wan yelled as the two clones’ bodies slumped to the ground. Quinlan held up his hands in surrender. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“They startled me!” He exclaimed. “Besides, it was just low grade stun blasts. They should be back and kicking in 5 minutes.” Even though her face was covered by the mask, he could feel Obi-Wan rolling her eyes. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“The things I put up with,” she muttered. Quinlan grinned beneath his own mask. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Aww, I know you don’t mean that. If you didn’t love me, you would have spaced me years ago,” he retorted cheerfully. Through their bond, he suddenly got the impression of a mental slap, so of course he sent back an image of him sticking out his tongue.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Captain?” Aayla’s voice asked. They turned towards her, just to see her and Feemor escorting three clones with binders. “They appear to be the only ones left at the base.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I can’t believe it,” Quinlan sighed. “My foundling is all grown up. Making friends all on her own? I couldn’t be prouder.” He wiped away a fake tear from his visor as Obi-Wan swatted his arm. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Please, Quinlan. Don’t be so uncivilized,” Aayla said in an impression of Obi-Wan’s Coruscanti accent. Feemor made muffle giggle noises beneath his helmet, and Quinlan could feel the heat of Obi-Wan’s glare.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Before she could respond, the ground shook and a giant eel burst out from one of the tunnels that littered the planet. Obi-Wan didn’t even look as she took the shot. The blaster bolt hit the eel right in the center of the eye.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Showoff,” Quinlan muttered under his breath. He probably could have taken the shot, but Obi-Wan had always been the faster draw. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The clones were just staring at them slack jawed, and Quinlan looked at them sympathetically.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Don’t worry. She normally has that effect on people,” he comforted. Obi-Wan’s annoyance was almost physical, but driving her crazy was basically his whole job, so Quinlan didn’t worry too much. If he didn’t do it who would? Probably Siri, but that isn’t the point. “So, new people, what are your names?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The clones looked at each other. “CT-27-5555, CT-1409, and CT-782,” one said. Aayla’s anger flooded the bond. Quinlan felt his face go pale, but was Feemor who voiced all of their thoughts.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“You don’t have names?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The clones stayed silent, and Quinlan took that to mean that they did, but just didn’t share them. That made him even more frustrated. Obi-Wan had always put freeing slaves at the top of their list due to her experience on Bandomeer. Aayla was a former slave. Maul was a slave of sorts. Now the republic was using slave armies that were scared to share their own names.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Captain, permission to declare war on the Republic?” he asked. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Immediate permission denied, but the suggestion has been tabled for later,” Obi-Wan growled. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Quinlan grinned. Maybe they could also take down the Chancellor while they were at it. Maul had told them that Chancellor Palpatine was a Sith Lord, and they had been trying to figure out a way for him to die and be labeled an accident. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>So far, no luck.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Honestly, Qunlan thought they could probably take him, but that would cause a whole bunch of political messes, and he probably had some contingency in place that they would need to dismantle.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>A groan from the stunned men over on the side drew their attention. The blue-armored clone stirred and began to sit up. Quinlan was by his side in a flash helping him. Maybe he felt slightly guilty for stunning them, but who was to say? </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Easy there, tiger,” he murmured as the clone jumped when he spotted Quinlan. The clone’s growl sounded tinny through the helmet’s speakers. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Who in the blazes are you?” he demanded. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“A nerf herder, that’s what,” Obi-Wan muttered. Quinlan gasped in mock indignation and clutched his chest.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Captain, you wound me!” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Anyone care to explain what is going on?” the clone asked. The yellow armored one started to move. (Quinlan just decided to call them Blue and Yellow until he could figure out their names or numbers). </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Obi-Wan stroked the end of her mask as if it were a beard. “I guess that we were coming here to steal some commando droids, but I think that objective has changed slightly.” She turned to Aayla and Feemor. “How would you guys feel about repelling a seperatist invasion?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The sudden change of pace didn’t surprise any of them. If you wanted to live as long as you could as an ex-jedi pirate, you learn to roll with the punches, particularly Obi-Wan’s tendency to change plans on a whim. It made life exciting. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Wait, you would help us?” one of the un-painted clones, CT-27-5555, if he was not mistaken. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Feemor shrugged. “We can take out all of the droids at once if we get close enough,” he said. “The virus should reprogram all of them.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Yellow coughed and struggled to his feet. “Who are you?” he demanded. Blue snorted.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“That is what I asked,” Blue muttered. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Obi-Wan looked back at them, Quinlan knew she was smirking beneath that mask.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, darlings, I am afraid we skipped our own introductions,” she said smoothly, before falling into a bow. “I am the Negotiator, and this is my crew, the Firebirds.” The clones’ shock pierced the air, almost tangible.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“You have got to be kidding me,” Blue groaned. “This is just our luck.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“The Generals are going to </span>
  <em>
    <span>love</span>
  </em>
  <span> this,” Yellow agreed. “But for the record, this is 100% your fault for jinxing us.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Quinlan looked at each of them curiously. “Well, if you don’t mind, does anyone have any ideas about how to get past the blast doors?” </span>
  <em>
    <span>because we can’t use our lightsabers </span>
  </em>
  <span>went unsaid to the rest of the crew. Despite keeping up lightsaber training after they became a crew, they mostly stuck to blasters to be a little less conspicuous. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Blue looked at him. “If you really are our allies, then please release the shinies, and then we can plan.” All eyes turned to Aayla and Feemor and the soldiers still in binders. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Apologies,” Aayla said. She pressed a key to each one and the cuffs snapped off, clattering to the ground. Scooping them up, the binders collapsed to half circles, and she put them back in her belt.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Blue rolled his shoulders and stood all the way up and Yellow followed suit. Both stood at military attention. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Well then, I am Captain Rex of the 501st, under General Skywalker,” Blue introduced. “This is Commander Cody of the 212th under General Jinn.” There was no visible change in body language from any one of them, but through the shared bond, they all felt a collective twinge at the name Jinn, but quickly shielded it. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Pleasure to meet you both,” Obi-Wan said. “Now, I believe you have an idea of how to get past the blast doors?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Blue--- Rex, nodded. “Yes, I think I do.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>As far as days went, Cody’s was not at the top of the list. Rex had to jinx a routine inspection, then they were ambushed by commando droids, promptly stunned, and woke up by the very same pirates that they were supposed to be hunting down. Fantastic.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Now they had to retake the base. He really wished that he had brought the rocket launcher to open the door, but it would have probably blown up with the ship. Instead, his di’kut brother was about to pretend to be a droid in order to convince the other droids to let them inside.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The walk was convincing enough. It had the same strange movements that the other droid had used when impersonating a clone. The comedian buried deep within him found it humorous that a clone was impersonating a droid’s clone impersonation. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Unit 26? Is that you?” the commando droid’s mechanized voice asked through the speaker.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Roger, roger,” Rex said, completely monotone.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“You sound strange. Is something wrong with your vocabulator?” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Rex put his hand on his neck, as if trying to adjust something, before replying “Roger roger.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Take off your helmet,” the droid ordered. “Let me see your face plate.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Roger roger.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Rex bent down as Fives (he learned the shiny’s name was) lifted up a decapitated commando droid head. Cody sighed. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“This is never gonna work,” he muttered, putting a hand on his helmet. One of the Firebirds nudged him.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Crazier has,” he said, and Cody got the distinct sense that the man was smirking behind the mask. Oh. That was the other thing.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>What in the blazes is the pirate they are supposed to be looking for doing on the same moon that they just happened to visit?</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He knew his general would say ‘It was the will of the force’, but the only response to that was the force had it out for him to make his life just a little more difficult. It was mocking him.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Surprisingly enough, Rex’s idiocy paid off. The door opened, and Rex said something Cody missed as he fired at the droids. All three commando droids were down in an instant. The group ran until they reached the bottom of the stairs leading to the control room. As they were about to swarm the room, one of the pirates stopped them. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Sorry, but wait one second.” He tapped something on his vambrace. A circular disk detached itself and he tossed it to the Negotiator, who caught it easily. The gold accents glinted in the harsh light.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Cover me until I can get it on one of them,” she said, before breaking into a sprint. Cody cursed under his breath. Force, she was fast. Taking two stairs at a time, he got to the top just in time to see the Negotiator in action. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>All of the commando droids were in the control boards, and firing at her. She dodged on blast and ducked under another one, going into a shoulder roll. Maybe Cody’s jaw dropped when she flipped over the control board, twisting her leg around a commando droid's neck, and pinning it to the ground, slamming the disk onto its head, but no one would know. Helmets were useful that way.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>All the commando droids froze at once, and bent over, deactivated. The man who took out the circular disk pumped a fist into the air. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>“Yes!” He cheered. He turned to the twi’lek. “I told you it would work.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The twi’lek snorted. “I never doubted you for a second.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The last pirate walked over to the Negotiator, and helped her up to her feet. She rolled out her shoulder, and looked at one of the windows on the side. As if on an unheard signal, all of the rest of the Firebirds looked out the window. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“You guys didn’t happen to invite a few more droids to the party, did you?” the last pirate asked.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Echo ran up to the window, and lowered his visor, zooming in. Judging by the shoulders drooping ever so slightly, it wasn’t good news.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“There’s a seperatist fleet coming this way,” he murmured. It took approximately two seconds for the pieces to click together.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Kamino,” Cody and Rex said at the same time. The Negotiator’s mask tilted at him as if she was curious. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“This is the last outpost before Kamino. It’s supposed to warn of any attacks coming their way,” he explained. Hevy ran to the control table, shoving over a commando droid. After pressing a few buttons, he looked back at them, and Cody prepared for the worst.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“They’ve hardwired the all clear signal.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Well, this mess of a mission just got a lot worse. The Firebirds stared out the window. Then the twi’lek started to giggle. The Negotiator looked over in her direction. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I resent that, you know.” Resent what? Sighing, the pirate turned to the rest of them. “How do you feel about blowing this place up?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“What?!” Echo exclaimed. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Our mission is to defend the base at all costs!” Fives added, but Rex was nodding along with the pirates. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“My thoughts exactly. No base means no all clear. People would notice that.” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Cody could see that working, but where the heck were they going to get enough detonators to blow this place sky high? He voiced as much. They all thought for a second. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“The LT,” Hevy said. Everyone turned towards him. “Liquid Tibanna. They use it when the moon freezes over.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Cody smiled viciously. “Liquid Tibanna, highly explosive.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Fives looked out the window and froze. “We have incoming,” he announced. Everyone turned to see a giant droid ship heading towards them. Yep, the day couldn’t have been any better.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Can’t you just disable them like you did the commando droids?” Echo asked, but the one who had the disk shook his head. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Commando droids have their own separate networks. The virus I created basically used the first droid to access the rest and take them all down. Those droids down there are on a different network, and I left all my stuff for them back on </span>
  <em>
    <span>The Memory</span>
  </em>
  <span>,” he explained. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Everyone was silent as they comprehended this new information. Cody wondered in the back of his mind why the Republic hadn’t invented something like that. It could save thousands of brother’s lives. But then again, he wondered why the Republic hadn’t done a lot of things. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The Negotiator looked at all of them. “I have a plan, but you are all going to think I am insane,” she said.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I think we’ll take insane,” Hevy replied. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Cody had to agree. The odds were not in their favor. Four pirates, three shinies, and a commander and captain was a pretty impressive strike team, but against those odds? In order for any normal plan to work, they would need to pirates to be jedi or something. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The pirates exchanged looks. “Well, here it is…”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>As they explained a plan that sounded like something Skywalker would pull, something crossed his mind. Cody realized that maybe working with pirates wasn’t so bad after all.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Thank you for all the comments! I was not expecting this to get as much attention as it did, but who’s complaining? Not me, that’s who. </p>
<p>Sneak Peek:<br/>A certain Weequay pirate is on the horizon... hehehehehe</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter 3</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Obi-Wan watched as almost all of the clones disappeared into the maintenance shaft along with Aayla and Quinlan. The only ones remaining inside were herself, Feemor, and the yellow armored clone (Cody, was it?). They had the fun part of the job.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Alright. Can you activate those commando droids?” She asked Feemor. He nodded, and all of the droids sprang to life. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Cody twitched towards his blaster, but Obi-Wan waved him down.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Have them bring up the LT, and Cody and I will start Phase 2,” she ordered. Feemor nodded and the commandos started moving. Obi-Wan jumped down from the window and into a roll, before breaking into a run. She could sense Cody right behind her.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Obi-Wan had full faith in Feemor. He would get the LT explosion rigged up. The other group would fly the ship and act as the escape, while she and Cody would serve as the distraction to get all the droids inside the base. By their count, there was about a legion landing on the platform.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Do you have a call sign I can use?” Cody asked. Obi-Wan startled. “Negotiator is just a bit of a mouthful to yell on the field,” he added hastily. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“You may call me Ben,” she said, smiling beneath the mask. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Well Ben, how well can you throw a grenade?” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Obi-Wan grinned. “I like how you think.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Readying the bombs, she got ready to throw them into the oncoming wave of droids. There wasn’t cover on the platform, so she would need to throw it through an opening in the door.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“3, 2, 1, NOW!” Cody yelled. Obi-Wan chucked the grenade through the gap and Cody fired. The resulting explosion took out at least 15 droids. They repeated toss and fire, until they ran out of grenades to throw.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>She started picking off droids as they got closer. Maybe there were about 60 yards between them and the B-1s. One shot at a time. Aim for the head. The droids just kept marching over their fallen comrades, and soon they were right on the base’s door step. They started firing through the gap. She ducked under the spray of red so it wouldn’t put a hole through her head.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Seal it!” Obi-Wan called. Cody slammed his hand onto the controls, shutting the opening and activating the blast doors. The silence was sudden, and almost uncomfortable. Her adrenaline and battle sense made it impossible to calm down.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“How long do we think we have before they get through?” The clone asked. Obi-Wan shrugged.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“About 2 minutes if we’re lucky,” she estimated. “Now we just need them to get inside, and for us to get—-“</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>&lt;Obi-Wan!&gt; Feemor’s voice called through the bond. He was surprisingly worried, which made Obi-Wan nervous. He was normally so put together.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>&lt;What’s wrong?&gt; she answered immediately.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>&lt;The maintenance shaft collapsed in on itself.&gt;</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Oh no.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“What happened?” Cody asked. Oh force. She must have said that out loud. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Maintenance shaft collapsed,” she said. If that were true, they would need another way out. Opening herself up to everyone on the team, she asked &lt;How far along is everyone?&gt;</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>&lt;We made it to the ship, and are starting up the take off sequence,&gt; Quin replied.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>They needed to get to the ship. Obi-Wan didn’t want to use the force unless absolutely necessary, which meant they probably couldn’t take down all of those droids. An idea struck her. A raid that they had done a few years earlier on Cato Neimoidia had been in a similar situation. They just needed to get to the observation deck.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>&lt;We can’t meet you through the maintenance shaft, so swing around. Get ready to catch us. Same strategy as the Cato Neimoidia Raid,&gt; Obi-Wan announced. It was the fastest way to get them outside without fighting their way through the droids. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>&lt;Are you sure about this?&gt; Aayla asked. Obi-Wan pushed her affirmation across all of them and closed the bond. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“How are we going to get out?” Cody asked.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Obi-Wan looked back, and was about to respond, but Feemor came running up to them. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I couldn’t get through, and judging by your chosen method for getting us out, I thought you might want the help,” he explained quickly. Obi-Wan smirked. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, seeing as the droids are about to cut through that door in three seconds, why don’t we get under some cover?” Cody snapped.  </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The said door fell to the ground with a clang, and the air filled with red blaster bolts. Obi-Wan cursed under her breath as she ran to cover, avoiding getting skewered and returning fire. </span>
  <em>
    <span>B-1 and SBDs.</span>
  </em>
  <span> It shouldn’t be too hard. Droids went down, but more took their place. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Fall back!” She called. “Get to the window!”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The battle droids just kept coming. Force, Obi-Wan wished she could have used her lightsaber, but for now, the blaster would have to do. Running back to the control center, she started making her way to the observation deck and the window. They needed to get out now, or they were going to get overrun. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Quinlan, where are you?</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Ben, how are we going to get out of this?” Cody asked as he dodged a blaster bolt and headshotted the droid who fired. In the back of her mind, Obi-Wan approved. If he wasn’t a soldier fighting for the Republic, she would have offered him a job. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Maybe she still would.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The sounds of an approaching ship turned her attention away from the droids. Quinlan’s mask was visible from the cockpit as he turned the ship around and lowered the ramp. Suddenly, Obi-Wan realized how she had broken the window the other time.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Blast. This wasn’t some flimsy high rise window you could jump through. This was military grade glass designed to repel </span>
  <em>
    <span>cannons</span>
  </em>
  <span>. There was one option left, and Obi-Wan hated it. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Reaching for the force, she concentrated on the window. Fractures began to appear. Feemor caught on and also turned. Together, they merged their force presences and the window </span>
  <em>
    <span>shattered. </span>
  </em>
  <span>Cody let out a yelp as a cold rush of air filled the room. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Jump!” Obi-Wan yelled. She grabbed Cody by the arm and </span>
  <em>
    <span>lept.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Landing on the ramp with a thud, she sensed Feemor come in behind her. The door closed, and the ship rocketed away. Feemor pressed a button on his vambrace and the resulting explosion rocked the ship. They left the moon just in time to see Republic ships enter the space, chasing off the separatist fleet. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The ship gave another jolt as they entered hyperspace, and Obi-Wan rocked, leaning against the wall for support, taking deep breaths. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“That was fun,” she muttered. Cody turned to her, taking off his helmet. The military-length hair shifted to accommodate his fingers as he ran his hand through it. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Fun?</span>
  </em>
  <span> You are all insane!” He exclaimed. Obi-Wan shrugged.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I get that a lot,” she murmured. The other clones burst into the hallway, and Rex went straight to Cody, pulling him into a hug. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Vod, if you ever do that to me again, I am going to set Helix on you,” Rex threatened, though Obi-Wan smiled. It was very reminiscent of Quinlan whenever she did anything particularly stupid or dangerous (His words, not hers. She would have called the acceptable risks).</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m fine,” Cody replied. “Besides, where are we going?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Because our ship blew up, I asked the pilot to take us to Florrum. We should be arriving in about a day.” Obi-Wan’s brain fizzled out for a second, before turning back on.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I am going to kill him,” she muttered. She could practically see Quinlan’s smirk mocking her. Feemor bumped her shoulder. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Aww, come on,” he chided, and Obi-Wan shot him a glare. One of the other shiny clones spoke up from the corridor.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“What is so bad about Florrum?” He asked. Both looked over at him, and he shrunk back a little. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>How could Obi-Wan phrase this? </span>
  <em>
    <span>Her drunk adoptive mentor who happened to set her on the path of piracy? A menace who rivaled Quinlan for most headaches in her life? </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Hondo,” Feemor and Obi-Wan replied in unison.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>————————————————————————————-</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Florrum was too much like Tatooine for Anakin’s taste. For Force’s sake, there was </span>
  <em>
    <span>sand</span>
  </em>
  <span>. Not nearly as much as Tatooine, but still. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Sand. SAND. </span>
  </em>
  <span>Apparently Master Qui-Gon must’ve picked up on his thoughts, because he started to chuckle.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Anakin glared, and stalked forwards towards the base that apparently housed Captain Hondo Ohnaka, their informant. It was just him and Master Qui-Gon. The rest of the 501st and 212th was orbiting a nearby moon. This would be a trial run for Snips to organize ships while he was elsewhere. Jesse would be there to help her.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>(In the back of his mind, he was just hoping and praying to the force that when they returned everything wouldn’t be on fire)</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Ani, I will take the lead on this investigation. The pirates will not be forthcoming with information about their queen,” Qui-Gon said as they walked forward. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Swallowing his pride, Anakin bit down the urge to correct the nickname. He was a knight now, not a little child. It grated on him that Master Qui-Gon still used it. It was something that he actually appreciated about the council. He may have some issues with them, but they always addressed him like he was an adult.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“How are you planning to convince them?” He asked. His former master offered a smile that’s serenity was slightly challenged by the mischief in his eyes.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I have my ways,” he replied as calmly as ever.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>They continued their walk all the way until they were at the entrance to the base. A weequay in a red trench coat and green tinted goggles swaggered up to the duo.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Hello friends!” He called, rather loudly. “I am Captain Hondo Ohnaka! What might I help you good sirs with today?” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Perfect. Just who they were looking for. Anakin was less than impressed with the loud (and possibly quite drunk) pirate. But, if they were going to try and find the </span>
  <em>
    <span>best</span>
  </em>
  <span> pirate, apparently he was the one to go to.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I am Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn, and this is Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker,” Qui-Gon introduced. Hondo narrowed his eyes, then let loose a giant belly laugh.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh! A jedi!” He exclaimed. “What brings you to our humble abode?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Hondo went into a sweeping bow and Anakin tried not to groan. This was who they would have to spend the next few hours with? Just his luck. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“We are seeking information on a certain pirate that you claim to know very well. Have you heard of the Negotiator?” Qui-Gon asked smoothly. Hondo’s eyes widened as he gasped.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“You are looking for Queenie, eh? Well then, let us have a drink!”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>They were ushered into a bar whose smell did not particularly agree with Anakin’s stomach. Sitting down at one of that tables farthest away from the blaring music, the pirate took a long sip from a glass filled with some kind of green liquid.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“My, my,” he said, shaking his head, “how to talk about the Negotiator. She used to be such a small little thing, but fiery. She had spirit!” Taking another long sip, he continued. “Nearly took out all of my men once. She had rigged the ship to explode, but instead, I offered her a job!”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Anakin listened intently as the weequay rambled. When he had been a boy on Tatooine, the Negotiator had been a rising force. As more of her escapades reached the wider galaxy, he had watched with bated breath when she would arrive on Tatooine. It wasn’t uncommon knowledge that she targeted slavers. Maybe he had harbored a secret fantasy that she had found him and decided to take him into her crew.  </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>After all, it wasn’t the jedi who freed the slaves. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“... and </span>
  <em>
    <span>ate</span>
  </em>
  <span> it! Who knew? I was worried I was going to lose her when those two men showed up.” Qui-Gon tilted his head in interest.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“What two men?” He asked carefully.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, she said it was people from her past.” Hondo made a tsk tsk noise. “‘Pasts always come back to bite you.’ That is what Mama always said. Though, it ended up working out alright. Turns out they were her brothers!”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Brothers?” Qui-Gon prodded, and Hondo nodded eagerly.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes. They stayed for about a week, until one day I woke up and she had stolen my ship and four crate loads of weaponry and created her own pirate gang!” He held a hand to his chest. “I have never been more proud of my protege.” Hondo held up his drink. “Now she has become the greatest of us all. To Queenie!”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>All around the bar, the pirates echoed “Queenie!” and downed their glasses.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Qui-Gon took a sip of his own drink. “You wouldn’t happen to know where she is, would you?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Bah, of course not, jedi. She comes and she goes.” Hondo waved his arms around, probably for emphasis. “I tried to convince her to take my hand in marriage, but she refused.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Anakin didn’t sputter. He didn’t. “You asked your apprentice to </span>
  <em>
    <span>marry</span>
  </em>
  <span> you?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Hondo slammed his glass on the table. “And she didn’t accept!” He sighed. “The legacy that could have been.” He perked back up almost immediately. “Last I heard of her, she was near Bothawui planning some sort of crazy raid. Though I am wondering why two fine jedi such as yourselves are looking for my Queen.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“The Republic wishes to create an alliance with her,” Qui-Gon explained.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>For some reason, Hondo thought that was hilarious.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Master Jedi,” he said after he had contained his laughter, “You are not the first, nor will be the last that attempts to create an alliance.” He suddenly sobered up. “When you meet her, be on your best behavior. The Pirate Queen’s anger is not to be trifled with.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>With that, he was back to laughing and telling stories about the time that one of his men decided to try their hand at cooking and instead almost burned the compound down. Anakin tried to digest this new information.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Bothawui… that was near Rishi. Maybe they could have Commander Cody and Captain Rex head there after the inspection instead of meeting them at Florrum. As the General side of him tried to figure out how to organize to find them, the part of him that would always be the kid from Tatooine was much more interested in the Negotiator.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>From everything that Hondo had told him, the Pirate Queen really was a living legend. A small part of him thrilled at the chance to meet her, even as a jedi. He would probably have to thank her for freeing his mother…. no. He could not go down that route. What happened with the Tuskens was a distant memory.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Trying to erase any residual memories of what he had done, Anakin took a large gulp of the alcohol in front of him. It burned as it slid down his throat. That was good. It would keep him from thinking about the screams of the Raider Children as he cut them down.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Hondo was saying something, but the world was fading away. Was the room always this dark? Anakin mumbled something about not feeling too good before the world went blissfully black</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Chapter 4</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Kora - father/dad<br/>Ori’vod - older brother</p>
<p>This chapter really fought me, so I am glad it is finally in the wild.</p>
<p>Force Oaths are something I made up, because we are already messing with Canon, so why not? They are kind of like Unbreakable Vows (from Harry Potter), but more like force compulsions where instead of dying, you physically cannot do the thing.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Fives was still a little shell shocked from what had just happened. Actually, he was just barely beginning to process what had happened. Between the running and fighting and flying, he hadn’t had much time to even </span>
  <em>
    <span>think</span>
  </em>
  <span> about what was going on, besides coming up with strategies to stay alive.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>A meteor shower had ended up turning into an attack on the base. Cutup, Droidbait, Nub, and Sergeant O’niner were all dead. They had been captured by pirates, but then those pirates helped them retake the base. Then to top it all off, he was now flying with </span>
  <em>
    <span>Captain Rex</span>
  </em>
  <span> and </span>
  <em>
    <span>Commander Cody</span>
  </em>
  <span> with apparently infamous pirates towards Florrum to meet more pirates after blowing up the outpost they had sworn to protect at all costs while stopping a seperatist invasion of their home planet.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Was frontline life like this all the time?</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Currently, he was sitting in a small common area next to Echo and Hevy. There was a table that could be converted to a Dejarik board that they had not yet taken advantage of. Fives usually was a little loose with regs, but this was uncharted territory. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The Captain and Commander weren’t present. They were having a conversation in one of the adjoining rooms that they were going to sleep in tonight. Probably to strategize about what the heck was going on and how to move forward.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>One of the pirates walked over, and sat next to them. Her blue lekku swayed as she plopped onto the couch. None of them had removed their masks yet, so Fives could only guess at who it was by things that the mask didn’t cover. The lekku was a pretty dead giveaway that this was the pirate that had captured them earlier.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>In the back of his mind, he wondered if they were like certain Mandalorian Coverts that never removed their helmets in the presence of others.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“So,” she started, “We weren’t expecting extra people on our way back, but I think we can scrounge up extra clothing for you if you want to use the refresher.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Fives blinked. “Extra </span>
  <em>
    <span>clothing</span>
  </em>
  <span>, ma’am?” he tested. She nodded.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, I am guessing you're more of </span>
  <em>
    <span>Kora</span>
  </em>
  <span>’s size,” she continued, “though if we needed to, you could probably fit into </span>
  <em>
    <span>ba’vodu</span>
  </em>
  <span>’s spares.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Fives had no idea who Kora was, but he was pretty sure ba’vodu meant aunt or uncle in Mando’a. That was interesting, considering that these people were definitely not mandalorian, judging by the lack of armor and the fact their masks didn’t have the T-shaped visor. Still, it was very curious. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Before he could stop himself, he blurted, “Do you all speak Mando’a?” The pirate shrugged. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“We can speak all sorts of languages. Ob--viously, the Captain is the best, though </span>
  <em>
    <span>Kora </span>
  </em>
  <span>isn’t too far behind. They almost never have a full blown argument in basic,” she explained. Fives caught the little slip up, but he couldn’t figure out what word it could have been instead.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Echo perked up. His nerd sense must have activated. “Which ones?”  The twi’lek laughed. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, the most recent we had to learn was Ubese, but we’re all fluent in Basic, Ryl, Mando’a, Huttese, and Binary. I’m passable in Rodian and Galactic Basic Sign Language, and can understand Shyriiwook and Togruti.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Fives’ jaw dropped. “How can you remember so many?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“We travel all over the galaxy and have a lot of down time between the legally grey activities we participate in,” she said. “Besides, my first language was Ryl and my second was Huttese. I didn’t learn Basic until </span>
  <em>
    <span>Kora</span>
  </em>
  <span> adopted me.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The pirate who had been flying the ship suddenly appeared in the doorway. “Hey, Ya’ika, we need you in the Roost.” He jerked his head towards a door. She nodded in response and got up.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Fresher is the door to the right. Clothes should be on top of the sink,” she said, before following the other man inside the other room. Fives got a glimpse of a glowing holotable before the door slid shut.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Everyone was silent for a while. Fives exchanged a glance with Hevy and Echo. Pirates were… not what he expected them to be. Maybe these were the exceptions, but he expected pirates to be more... drunk and sloppy? Not professional and friendly. If you took away the pirating and replaced the crew mates with clones, he would have assumed that they were all batchmates. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I think I will take up her offer,” Fives muttered. He had a lot to think about and a sonic would probably be good for him.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Quietly slipping into the fresher, he started to remove his armor, but stopped. Something was off. It took him a second before he realized what. That wasn’t a sonic. It was a water based </span>
  <em>
    <span>shower</span>
  </em>
  <span>. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Echo?” He squeaked. “Can you come over here?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“What happened?” His brother asked, walking inside. He could only point, and watched Echo’s jaw drop open. “Hevy?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Did Fives break the sonic— </span>
  <em>
    <span>Is that a shower?</span>
  </em>
  <span>” Hevy hissed. Fives nodded numbly.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“They— They gave us a shower?” Echo forced out.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>That was when Fives noticed the knobs. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Showers were luxuries, like chocolate. Even on Kamino where water was plentiful, they either used a sonic or very cold water. Fives could only stare at the shower that provided </span>
  <em>
    <span>hot</span>
  </em>
  <span> water. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>This was just… he didn’t know what it was. The part of him that assumed this was some kind of trick, but another part of him was just giddy with excitement. He picked up the clothes on the sink and examined them. They were sturdy, but of good quality.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, if it wasn’t desertion or treason, I might have become a pirate,” he said to no one in particular.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>———————————————————————————</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Vod, what do we do?” Rex hissed as soon as the door closed, but Cody was silent, trying to make sense of the new information. Maybe he was wrong. Force, he hoped he was wrong, because he didn’t want to think about the consequences.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Rex, did they... touch the window when it shattered?” he asked. Rex shook his head, before coming to the same conclusion.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“They didn’t even use comms either, but somehow coordinated perfectly,” he realized. “Force, we are so screwed.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Cody buried his head in his hands. This was not good. General Jinn, in a rare moment of honesty, told him that most force users outside of the order were considered dangerous. The Jedi had a watchlist of individuals that might pose a threat to the Republic. His first apprentice had left the order and become a dark sider and nearly killed everyone on Bandomeer, including his second apprentice. The second apprentice had left the order, but then disappeared off the face of the galaxy and was presumed to be dead.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Cody was praying to the force that the same didn’t happen to General Skywalker. The war probably couldn’t take it.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>In any case, that window was military grade glass, which meant it was </span>
  <em>
    <span>very</span>
  </em>
  <span> difficult to break. The only person he had ever seen do something like that was General Windu, but General Skywalker had done something similar. The point was that </span>
  <em>
    <span>trained</span>
  </em>
  <span> force sensitives could do it.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>If he survived this mission, Cody was going to 79’s and getting the strongest drink he could get his hands on.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“What are we going to do?” he groaned. “These guys are probably not going to appreciate having jedi watching them. I’m guessing that she tries to keep her force sensitivity quiet for that exact reason.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“What if they decide that we are less valuable than keeping their secret under wraps?” Rex muttered, collapsing onto the bed.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I have no doubt that they could take down us and the shinies before we take down two of them,” Cody murmured.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Cody was frustrated. They were in a pickle. Judging by the display of skill from just Ben alone, she could probably take down all of them by herself. Throw in the other three, and there was no way to win. No way to fight back. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Cody wasn’t afraid of death. He would do his duty if it meant that his own life was forfeit. He would lay down his life in a heartbeat for any of his brothers. Death was not the issue. There was nothing about it he feared. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>He feared leaving his brothers behind with no one to protect them.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Suddenly, his brother sat straight up, then slouched again.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“They are force sensitive, right?” he started, and Cody lifted his head up to look over at him and nodded. “If they were going to try to kill us for knowing, could we do one of those Force Oaths?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Cody blinked. “What?” he growled.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>General Jinn had mentioned that once. Force Oaths were unbreakable unless you were released from them. You would literally be incapable of doing whatever you swore to not do. It was having part of your freewill stripped away. All in all, a terrible idea.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>As if hearing his thoughts, Rex raised a placating hand. “I know. I know,” he said, “but our mission is to secure an alliance with them, so if we propose it, they might trust us more, and then the chance of mission success increases. Besides, if they never ask, we never have to do it.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>This was an awful rationalization, but it could keep them and the shinies alive. It wasn’t like the Jedi would notice. Jinn was pretty tunnel minded, and Skywalker was pretty oblivious. Besides, they didn’t often ask Cody or Rex for their thoughts, only their competency. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Let the record show that I think that it is an absolutely terrible idea, but I will go along with it for the shinies’ sake,” he sighed. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Rex gave a matching sigh. “I know vod. I know.” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>They sat in silence for a few minutes, contemplating what they had just agreed to do. A startled yelp interrupted their musings. Rex and Cody were up on their feet in a flash, hands on weapons, barging out of the room ready to attack, but stopped when they saw what it was.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Two of the shinies were sprawled on the floor (Echo and Hevy, he identified) and Fives was standing in the door of the refresher sticking his tongue out at them. Judging by the positioning, Fives had pushed them to the ground.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“That is what you get for trying-- Sirs!” He snapped to attention. Echo and Hevy looked over before scrambling to their feet and attention. Each of them eyed the guns.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Maybe the deecees were a bit an over reaction.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Care to explain what is going on?” Cody growled. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He had an image to keep up. Afterall, these were shinies. A healthy amount of fear before becoming ori’vod never went amiss.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“We were having a minor dispute, though it is all cleared up now,” Fives reported, completely straight faced. That was a load of Bantha dung if Cody had ever heard it. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Echo was glaring at the back of Fives’ head and Hevy snorted.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Alright, if the issue is resolved, there will be no need for CO intervention,” Cody said. “If you three can spare a moment, we need to debrief.” They all snapped into a salute, and followed them into the bedroom. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>At his prompting, they explained what had happened. A meteor shower had turned into an invasion. They lost the base, and they were forced to retreat. One of their squadmates had been eaten by a giant eel. That was when they saw the shuttle, and attempted to contact them on comms, before resorting to the flare.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>That was when Hevy sheepishly admitted that using the flare had given their position away to the pirates, who disabled and cuffed them, before bringing them to the Negotiator and the last pirate.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Cody nodded along, and asked clarifying questions,but his Rex Sense started to tingle. Sparing a glance at his younger brother, he spotted the expression on Rex’s face. Oh boy. He needed more caff and sleep before he would deal with this. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Rex was planning to fold them into the 501st, wasn’t he?</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>———————————————————————————</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Qui-Gon awoke with a groan. His head felt like a gundark had decided to perform a traditional fire dance. The one from the time when Anakin was about sixteen and the natives realized he was a virgin, and tried to sacrifice him to the volcano gods. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Good memories.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Urgh, Master,” Anakin groaned. “What happened?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Qui-Gon started to make his way off of his side and into a cross legged meditation position. He studied the binders holding his hands and a glowly connection to Anakin. That was going to make escape a lot more difficult.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“It appears that those pirates are smarter than we originally assumed,” he remarked.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I only took a sip!” Anakin defended. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Qui-Gon raised an eyebrow. “We were drugged, obviously.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Anakin pondered this for a moment. “Why would they drug us and then risk the Republic coming down on their heads?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Taking a few moments to go through the options, Qui-Gon sighed. There were a number of reasons, but there was only one that really made sense. It just made his job more difficult.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I believe they may be more protective of their Queen than we originally thought,” Qui-Gon decided. “I doubt creating an alliance will be as easy of a feat that we originally assumed.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“An shrewd observation, my former apprentice.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The voice made Qui-Gon’s spin stiffen. He had noticed the other side of the glowing connection, but he had assumed it attached to the wall. Following it, it instead led the face of an elderly man that had been the cause of so much destruction.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Dooku,” Anakin growled. “What are you doing here?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Yan… no, he was just Dooku, made a gesture that was just a tad more elegant than a shrug. “Much of the same purpose as you, I would assume.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Of course the Separatists would attempt to align themselves with the Negotiator. Her power and influence were not to be trifled with. That just made his job of convincing her the Republic was more beneficial to her than the Separatists. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“As if anybody would ever align with you,” Anakin spat. Dooku raised an eyebrow.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“What would you call the Separatist Council?” he replied, ever the picture of grace.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Before Anakin could do anything rash, Qui-Gon put a placating hand on his knee. As much as he despised the situation, there was the issue of the connection between them. They would need to work together, however unfortunate it might be, in order to escape. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I assume you have tried to separate us, but to no avail?” Qui-gon asked, donning his jedi serenity. Being this close to his former master was a trial, but he would show no weakness. The Count nodded.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Obviously. Otherwise you would be dead, and I would be free.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Swallowing the hurt that came with the callousness of the statement, he released his frustration into the force. He was so focused on pushing his feelings away, that he nearly missed Anakin’s next statement.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s bad enough that we have to be in the same cell, but could you at least spare me the sound of your constant chatter?” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Qui-Gon held his former apprentice back from doing something he would regret. He could feel the frustration and anger bleeding off of Anakin in waves, though Qui-Gon was unsure how he missed the darkness that permeated the air around Dooku when they first arrived. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Qui-Gon, I am glad that at least you are keeping one of your apprentices in line. It appears you are learning from your mistakes. You even supported them in an effort to save innocents from war!”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>That was low. Qui-Gon fought the unwanted guilt and grief that had never quite left after Melida/Daan. His jedi master mask flickered for a brief moment.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I would suggest you remain silent,” he replied coldly. There was a glint in the Count’s eyes that made him know that Dooku recognized he had struck a nerve.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“While I hold my tongue, you two will formulate a brilliant strategy to get us off this force-forsaken rock?” Dooku continued. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Yes!</span>
  </em>
  <span>” Anakin shot back. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Excellent,” Dooku muttered as he settled back.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Qui-Gon took one last deep breath as he started to strategize how to go forward. He would not let his former master throw him off. No matter what digs he might make at him. No. He was going to work and figure out how to escape. </span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Kora - father/dad<br/>Ori’vod - older brother</p>
<p>This chapter really fought me, and there was another scene happening in the far distant future that was just begging to be written.</p>
<p>I hope you enjoyed!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Chapter 5</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The planning room (or briefing room or caff room or insomnia room or dumb idea room or the loudly express your frustrations in a soundproof room room depending on the day), nicknamed the Roost, was silent. They all knew why. Feemor stared at the circuit board he was soldering, focusing on connecting the wires instead of the ever increasing suffocating feeling. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Everyone had staked a claim of an area of the Roost years ago. He had claimed the corner and had a little mechanic table set up, as meetings could be very boring. There was an outcropping that used to be a shelf, but had since been reinforced and enlarged, that Aayla was lounging on. Obi-Wan always stood by the holotable, and when Quinlan wasn’t standing with her, he was laying in the bean bag. If it was one of <em> those </em> days, Obi-Wan would sometimes join him. Siri had a swinging hammock and Maul usually sat in the deceptively comfortable ‘throne’.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Well, let’s address the bantha in the room,” Quinlan sighed. “Obi-Wan used the force in front of republic troopers. I agree it was the right call, but what do we do now?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Good ol’ Quin. He always went for the jugular. </p>
<p> </p>
<p><em> Apply enough pressure to the main arteries in the neck, you halt blood to the brain, and the victim will be rendered unconscious </em>.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The room was silent again, so Quin continued. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“They have a duty to report to the Jedi, and if it gets out that she is force sensitive, they might come down on us. I don’t think any of us are prepared for that.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Feemor let his agreement bleed through the bond, but didn’t bother looking up from the circuit board. He needed to get this wire connection right. (He knew it didn’t require much effort, but it was still nice to have something to focus on other than the rising dread of possibly seeing his old master.)</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I doubt they would have a good reaction to Maul,” Aayla added from her perch. She was hugging her knees to her chest. “After all, the last time they saw him, he was a Sith.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em> Dathomirians come from a cross breeding between Human Nightsisters and a group of male Zabracks. </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“They would have problems with almost everyone on our crew,” Quinlan growled. “We haven’t spent the better part of twenty years establishing ourselves for the Jedi to come in and pull it out from under our feet.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Obi-Wan still hadn’t spoken. She just stood in front of the holotable, with one hand on her chin, and the other crossed over her chest. Feemor watched her for a second, before returning to his work.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Well, we are going to meet Jedi on Florrum, aren’t we?” Aalya asked.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em> Florrum is home to the native Skalders whose thick hides protect them from the spray of acid geysers. </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Aayla had been long disillusioned with the Jedi, but the curiosity was still there. The rest of the crew rarely talked about their past lives as Jedi. It was painful, but hardly mattered now. The Firebirds had each other and that was that. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“<em> Ka </em>, we are,” Quinlan affirmed. “The masks should block our force presence, so as long as we have them on, they won’t suspect anything out of the ordinary. We just need to have a way to ensure the soldiers’ silence.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Quin’s face scrunched slightly. It was clear he didn’t like it. To be honest, neither did Feemor.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em> Kiffar were given facial tattoos called qukuff at a young age that were passed down through the maternal parent. </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>That was when Obi-Wan put her hands on the holo table. She was ready to speak.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I do not want to silence them permanently. Using the Force was an unfortunate necessity and I do not regret it. They may not make the connection to the rest of the team. The true issue is not the jedi, though that would be a major inconvenience. It’s the Chancellor I’m worried about. The Jedi report to him. Judging by what Underfoot told us, Skywalker has a particularly close relationship with him.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>There was no bitterness when Skywalker was spoken of. There was none to be had. He was not responsible for Jinn, nor his choices. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>(In the back of his mind, Feemor wondered when Master Qui-Gon had become Jinn).</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Feemor also made a mental note to pick Underfoot up the next time they dropped into Coruscant. The small mousedroid spy was a dear friend of his, but with the new updated version of the model coming out soon, he didn’t want the small droid to be scrapped.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em> “Then what do we do?” </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>That was the question, wasn’t it? Feemor considered it for a moment, before his mind came to an answer.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“A Force Oath,” he suggested. Everyone glazed over towards him, so he continued. “You get them to swear a Force Oath, and they won’t spill and we can keep on going around ruining Sidious’s plots.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>There was a general consensus that filled the space between them in the force. They all agreed. Feemor went back to soldering. Just a few more connections, and it would be ready to put into those new commando droids. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>He leaned back, inspecting his work. It wasn’t as neat as he would have hoped, but that was to be expected. Things relating to Jedi (and by extension Jinn) always put him a little more on edge and anxiety made him sloppy. Muttering a foul word in Huttese under his breath, he put the soldering iron back on the stand and turned off the power.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em> Cool a burn by either pressing something cold or putting it under running water. Remove all restricting accessories to prevent restricted circulation due to swelling.  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Pushing the goggles off his face, and hanging them up on the hook besides his station, Feemor rubbed his eyes. He didn’t want to leave the Roost. It was comfortable in here and he didn’t want to have to put the mask back on.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>It was unlikely anyone would recognize them as most people they knew from <em> Before </em> had last seen them 20 years ago, but it was still nice comfort. No one would connect him to the disgraced Knight. No one would look at him, as if trying to figure out why he had been repudiated. No one would ever need to know who he had been.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>There was also the bonus that they could go undercover or go drinking without everyone knowing their face. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Well, except for Obi-Wan, but there was nothing that would change that. No mask or outfit could ever disguise who she had become. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Fee, are you okay?” Quinlan asked. Feemor turned his head towards the kiffar.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Yeah… just heavy thoughts,” he shrugged. “Do you still need that update for your HUD?” he asked innocently. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Quinlan raised an eyebrow at the obvious dodging of the question. Force knew that that man knew all his tells. After all, a year in tight ship quarters searching for a missing friend followed by another few decades pirating and defying death together would have you learning all sorts of things about each other you never wanted to know. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Speaking of which, the anniversary for the raid that tied them all together was coming up in a few weeks. As he quickly did the mental math… <em> Force </em> had he really been away from the Jedi that long? </p>
<p> </p>
<p>His surprise must have shown, because Quinlan’s eyebrows furrowed a little more. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Are you sure?” he prodded. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Feemor sighed. There really wasn’t getting away from it. <em>Just say it already. </em></p>
<p> </p>
<p>“What’s our contingency if the Jedi figure out who we are?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The room fell silent. It was a terrifying possibility, if he was completely honest. One they never thought they would have to face, but then this war swooped in and changed everything. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Obi-Wan looked up. “I don’t know, but I do know that Firebirds come first. I don’t want to go to war with the Republic, but if they threaten us, I am willing to do what it takes, even if that does mean calling in the cavalry.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>That was a large promise. Obi-Wan almost never used her status as Pirate Queen, and sometimes it was easy to forget just how much power she wielded. It made him just the slightest bit reassured that she was willing to go such great lengths for them, even if Feemor already knew that she would.</p>
<p> </p>
<p><em> Things would be fine, </em> he told himself. <em> Everything would turn out fine. </em></p>
<p> </p>
<p>-------------------------------------------</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Anakin was desperately trying to figure out a plan. Every second trapped on this rock attached to his former grandmaster was a second that drove him deeper into insanity. Those pirates set them up.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Maybe they could all try to force push the doors, but the locking mechanism was probably designed to prevent people from opening with brute strength. There weren't any buttons to press with the force, and they had been stripped of their lightsabers.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Anakin wanted to pound his head into the wall. How did drunken pirates create the perfect trap? </p>
<p> </p>
<p>That was when he had noticed that Dooku was no longer sitting against the wall and was reaching out with the force towards a… plate of food?</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Don’t you think our priorities should be to escape first, eat second?” Anakin snapped. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Dooku glanced towards Qui-Gon. “Do control your protege’s insolence so I can concentrate,” he growled. Anakin was about to return with another snappish response, but Qui-Gon put a hand on his chestplate.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Ani,” Qui-Gon started.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“What?” </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Control your insolence. The count is concentrating,” he said, perfectly neutral, though his eyes told a different story. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Anakin had to swallow his laugh as Dooku’s scowl deepened. Shifting slightly to the side, he got a view of what the Count was really doing. A knife was floating through the air, and inserted itself into the key slot. The door slid open.</p>
<p><br/>
Of course Dooku would come up with an escape before Anakin would. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Well done, if I do say so myself,” Dooku announced to no one in particular.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Very impressive,” Anakin mocked under his breath, rolling his eyes. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>They began to weave their way through the hallways, which were shockingly mostly empty. A few crates were here and there, but very few guards. The identical rows of cells made it almost impossible to discern where they were. Dooku was still leading them along, but there was no pattern to where he turned.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“We do <em> know </em>where we’re going, don’t we?” Anakin muttered to Master Qui-Gon. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Hush, Ani,” he reprimanded, before turning to Dooku. “<em> Do </em>we know where we’re going?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Quiet,” the Count snarled, as they approached a pirate. Dooku didn’t wait a second before kicking the Weequay in the stomach and bringing his hands down hard on his head, effectively knocking him out. Anakin winced in sympathy, before crouching down to search the man as Dooku said something that Anakin wasn’t really paying much attention to.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>There wasn’t anything they could use… ah ha!</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Hey, I found the door key,” he whispered, plucking it off the Pirate’s belt. The count nodded, before starting to walk forward. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“This is the way to the hangar,” Dooku said as they stopped in front of a door. Anakin moved to insert the key.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Are you sure it’s safe?” Master Qui-Gon asked. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>The door beeped. “The key works,” Anakin said, but the other two men weren’t paying attention.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“But is it safe?” Qui-Gon asked again.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Of course it is--” the door slid open, revealing seven very heavily armed pirates. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Right,” Master Qui-Gon muttered. The trio turned around to go back the way they came, but more pirates flooded the hallway behind that awful red monkey lizard. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Hold it right there, jedi,” the pirate in front ordered. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Being heavily outnumbered, and without a weapon, they surrendered and allowed themselves to be led back to their cells. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“What were we thinking, following a Sith Lord,” Anakin muttered darkly as the pirates rechecked their bonds. They had decided to tighten the distance between the three captives. Hondo sighed dramatically as he circled them.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“What to do, what to do,” the Weequay murmured. “I don’t want to kill you, per se. In fact, you seem like decent fellows, even you, Count.” Anakin barely withheld a snort. “Lucky for you, Queenie is on her way to Florrum to drop off a few of your associates. A fortunate turn of fate for you.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Anakin’s brow furrowed. “As hostages?” he asked flatly.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Hondo let out a bellowing laugh. “No, no! She is much too honorable for that. Let us all thank our lucky stars that her only real exercise of power has been to abolish slavery.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Master Qui-Gon looked up. “What do you mean?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The Weequay blinked. “You really do not know? Oh, this is too good! A Jedi does not know?” Hondo shook his head as he chuckled. Anakin’s brain worked to figure out what he meant… wait.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Oh. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Oh no.</p>
<p> </p>
<p><em> Force </em>.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“The Negotiator completed the trials?” Anakin whispered, shocked, almost uncomprehendingly. Hondo turned to him and grinned.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“She <em> successfully </em>completed it all, and bears the mark. The galaxy recognizes the new Pirate Queen,” Captain Ohnaka said cheerfully, before turning on his heel and moving out. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Force, Anakin needed to sit down. This was… this was life changing. So far from the reaches of the Outer Rim, he had apparently missed the news of the millennium. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Wait, but had he really?</p>
<p> </p>
<p>About a month into his apprenticeship, he had felt the force change, hadn’t he? But no one else had noticed it. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Of course no one else would have noticed it.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The Jedi were Core worlders.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Anakin was Freed.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>He was the only one who <em> should </em> have noticed it. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>The Negotiator had completed the trials, and become the true Pirate Queen. The first one in over a thousand years. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Ani, what was he talking about?” Master Qui-Gon asked. Anakin looked over at his former master.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“It’s not a nickname, Master.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>-------------------------------------------</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Obi-Wan tucked her hair beneath the hood and picked up her mask. They would be arriving at Florrum in a few hours, and they needed to complete the Force Oath. That meant she had to hide her face again. Tracing the gold inlays had become soothing for her. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>The masks had been a gift from Hondo for her seventeenth life day, a few months after she had left to create her own crew. How he had gotten a hold of it was one of the greatest mysteries of the world. The weequay pirate may say he does everything for profit, but the force knew he had a parsec wide soft spot for their crew. After all, once a new member was officially sworn in, somehow, he would know and a new custom made mask would appear in the small hidden base on the asteroid that functioned as their exchange center.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Of course, they had all added modifications, including Feemor (Force bless his soul) somehow figuring out how to weave in beskar in order to hide their force signature. That had saved their life and identities more than once.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Slipping on the mask, Obi-Wan let herself fall into the role of the Negotiator as the HUD activated. Deep breath in. Long exhale. Roll the shoulders. Relax the stance. Obi-Wan did a few test words melting from High Coruscanti to her Outer Rim accent, and she was ready.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Behind her, she felt Aayla’s presence brush up on her mind, and Obi-Wan gladly let her in. Across the galaxy, she felt Siri tap her shields, and she sent soothing waves in response.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Exiting the Roost was like leaving her cocoon of safety. Everything about her alter identity needed to be spot on, now more than ever. Nothing could connect her back to the jedi. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>The clones were sitting at the table, looking very uncomfortable out of their armor. Obi-Wan bit back a chuckle at their expression. Somehow Commander Cody managed to look stoic and commanding in a fluffy sweater. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>It almost made her feel some regret for what she was about to do.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>But then she remembered Melida/Daan and Xanatos. She remembered who was sitting in the center of the Senate Dome. She remembered the people she commanded. She remembered her promise to the crew. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>It was better this way. For everyone.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The two commanding officers stiffened at her approach. Captain Rex eyed her warily. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em> Smart men. </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“We arrive on Florrum in a few hours,” she started. “Before we land, there is something we need to address.” She noticed both Cody and Rex tense, and Obi-Wan lifted a placating hand. “We may be pirates, but we have a code to uphold. Unfortunately, you know something about me that we can't have public knowledge.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>She stared at them through the mask. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Here is our dilemma. We don’t want to kill you, but we have no way to ensure your silence. Your word is meaningless to us because we can’t trust you, so that just leaves us with the option of either carving the memory from your head or you agreeing to a Force Oath.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Rex’s shoulders dropped a fraction of an inch, but he didn’t hesitate in answering, “We’ll take the Force Oath.” </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Inwardly, she was relieved. Obi-Wan had never been good at tampering with memories, and they didn’t have Maul with them. Outwardly, she nodded. Cody flashed some sort of hand signal and all the other clones flashed a different on back.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“You understand what this entails, correct?” </p>
<p> </p>
<p>All three of the younger clones shook their heads, but Rex and Cody’s gaze remained impassive.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Stripping off her gloves, Obi-Wan flexed her wrists for a moment before placing them palm up on the table in front of her. </p>
<p><br/>
“It is a completely painless process, unless you attempt to break the oath,” she explained. “You will take my hands, gloves off, and I will initiate the process. I’ll name my terms, and you will agree. It’s going to feel a little strange.” </p>
<p> </p>
<p>To be honest, she had only done this once before, but she was sure that she could pull it off again. The clones grabbed her hands, some more hesitantly than others, but in the end the result was the same.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Obi-Wan closed her eyes and reached through the force towards them, feeling out their force signatures, before drawing a thread between the six of them. She started to slowly chant, and the thread began to pulse. Two of the clones let in a sharp intake of air. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“You swear to never reveal the force sensitivity of the people in the crew. May the force close your mouth and silence your voices before you speak of it. May the ink of your pens run out and the stone bear no injury before it is mentioned. Do you so swear?” she murmured. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>The affirmative she received was enough. The threads connecting them glared, and Obi-Wan rushed to absorb the impact of the Oath setting into place. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>The clones would keep their silence. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Now she just had to worry about the jedi.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Hello there you lovely people!</p>
<p>I’m alive (at least since the last time i checked)</p>
<p> Sorry for the really late update. There were reasons. I have a new project (Surviving Apart, Living together) and I wanted to draw the Negotiator outfit. </p>
<p>I’m also lazy. </p>
<p>Speaking of which, does anyone know how to attach an image to Ao3 without getting a tumblr or is it a necessity? I want to stay the anonymous lurker… but i also want to show the Negotiator outfit drawing i did.</p>
<p>Also, I have lore for the Pirate Queen position. It will be explored later, but there are a few things I want to say now:</p>
<p>The Pirate Queen is not Obi-Wan’s nickname. It’s a literal title as real as the Emperor’s (maybe even more so). Becoming the Pirate Queen has trials you must undergo, but before you do any of that, you have to gain the allegiance of every criminal group represented in this Council thing (name tbd). Then you have to make your way to Coruscant, where there are several ‘trials’ in a secret temple of sorts. This includes a test of combat, mental strength, intellect, and sabbac. If you don’t complete them successfully, you will go mad or possibly die, depending on which test you fail. If you are successful, every underworld worker, slave (former or current), bounty hunter, pirate, and just basically the scum of the earth will know who you are (comes as an impulse or feeling). You can mark people with your ‘protection’ which guarantees them immunity in almost all situations, or you can give them a sort of Davy Jones style black mark, where people will be free to kill you onsight. The Pirate Queen can make orders, that if you don’t comply with, you will be marked with the black mark. There hasn’t been anyone able to complete the trials in over a thousand years, but before that, there were lines of pirate monarchies. The only way to become the next pirate monarch is to challenge the previous one after completing the Trials on Coruscant, or complete the trials after the previous one dies. </p>
<p>Sorry that was a lot, but it is the basic gist of it. </p>
<p>Thanks for all the comments and kudos and all that great stuff! Have a lovely day!</p>
<p>Ka - Ryl for Yes</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Chapter 6</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Siri Tachi was having a good day. While Obi-Wan and the rest of the gang were out galavanting throughout the Outer Rim, Siri and Maul decided to cause some trouble in the Core. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>They weren’t strictly on one side of the conflict or the other, but </span>
  <em>
    <span>by the Force</span>
  </em>
  <span> was the Trade Federation so much fun to mess with. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>It was ridiculously easy to find one of their cargo ships that was carrying a hefty number of credits and the like. Battle droids were also ridiculously stupid, and barely put up a fight. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Currently, she was making her way through one of the hallways towards the command center. Once she was there, she could take control of the ship. Maul was a few levels lower, making his way through the storage area. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Siri turned the corner, coming on a group of battle droids. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Fantastic.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Ahhh! A pirate!” One of them cried. His head was shot off moments later. The hallway erupted into blaster fire. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Siri had forgotten how much fun being in the thick of the action was. Normally, she was in a sniper position, picking off droids from afar, but that didn’t mean her blood didn’t sing for a good old fashioned fight.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Those B-1’s didn’t even stand a chance. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Shot after shot connected as the droids kept going down. She was really getting in the groove now. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Of course, that was when something started to beep.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Siri flicked on the comm. “If you have this number, you know my name, so what do you want?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“Tachi,” </span>
  </em>
  <span>said the voice. Siri grinned as she dodged the blaster bolt.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Syndulla,” she replied as she ran to cover. Those droids had called in reinforcements. “Haven’t heard from you in a while. What’s going on with Ryloth?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“We just barely got comms back up,”</span>
  </em>
  <span> he said. An explosion rocked the ship. Siri blinked. That wasn’t supposed to happen. </span>
  <em>
    <span>“Siri, is this a bad time?”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“No,” she gritted as she ducked the spray of blaster fire. “I can multitask. What do you need, Cham?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“We have Seppies down on the surface of Ryloth. Wat Tambor, specifically. He’s robbing us blind and he’s taking hostages,”</span>
  </em>
  <span> he explained.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Sounds like a party. I’d hate to miss out.” Launching a grenade into the midst of droids, she fired, hitting it straight on. Several went down, but more were coming. Good.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“You might want to bring the whole gang. We’re going to need all the help we can get.” </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Obi-Wan’s doing some stuff in the Outer Rim right now, but Maul and I can get there soon.” Another explosion. </span>
  <em>
    <span>What was going on?</span>
  </em>
  <span> “Well, as soon as we take care of this.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“Thanks for coming.”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“It will be like the good ol’ times, Cham.” Siri snorted as she fired off three times in rapid succession, each one a perfect headshot. “How’s my niece doing by the way?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“Oh she’s doing well. Can’t stop her from running around the base pretending to do dog fights with the other children.”</span>
  </em>
  <span> Cham laughed. </span>
  <em>
    <span>“It’ll be good to see the crew in person.”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Siri rolled her eyes, and rolled out of the way as a super battle droid smashed its fist into the crate she hid behind. Of course SBD’s had to show up too. She lashed out, kicking it in the chest and launching it straight into the wall. A few more shots and the hallway was clear. Standing up, she straightened out her cloak. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“You know,” she said, as breaths came a little heavier. “Seeing as we are going to help you with your little infestation, I want to know how many jedi are going to be there.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“None. The last jedi that was here got killed. No more are coming until they can break through the blockade which shouldn’t be a problem for you. Speaking of which, there are rumors...”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“About?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“The Republic wanting to form an alliance. Apparently they are starting to pay more attention to the big players in the Outer Rim. The Hutts are steering them your direction. They want to track the Pirate Queen down.”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Siri paused from slicing open the door. “I hope for their sake that they don’t,” she muttered as she resumed. “We don’t work with Jedi. In fact, we go out of our way to avoid them.” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“When has the Senate ever cared?” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Cham responded dryly. Siri made a noise as the doors opened, revealing at least eight more droids. Fantastic. There was one thing to do. Firing off shots, she launched herself towards the droids, letting them take out each other. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“It really—“ she paused to tear off the head of a B-1 “—would be a terrible idea. Obi-Wan knows that. The Senate probably doesn’t even know the full story. They just assume she’s some important powerful person.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“Still… just keep an eye out. The moment you interact with one side, the other is going to come knocking,”</span>
  </em>
  <span> Cham cautioned.</span>
  <em>
    <span> “The Republic is only slightly more welcoming than the Separatists.”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Siri shrugged as the last droid went down. “True,” she acknowledged. “But we can completely destabilize the Separatists in one fell swoop, which we can’t do with the Republic.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“Really? How would you plan on doing that?”</span>
  </em>
  
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Track one of the Seperatist Council meetings, rewire a few droids with thermal detonators to explode on a timer, and boom,” she replied. “I guess we might also destroy the economy too, but that’s what they get for consistently having every member meet in person at least once a month. It’s a terrible security risk.” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Cham gave a startled laugh. </span>
  <em>
    <span>“Do I want to know how you know that?”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Probably not.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>An armored figure appeared up ahead of her, slinging a rifle over his shoulder. “I have to go. Maul’s here. We can coordinate when I get to Ryloth.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“Good luck.”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Cham, you should know by now I don’t believe in that.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The comm flicked out, and Siri turned to Maul. “How do you feel about Ryloth?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Maul snorted, the noise coming out strangely through the mechanized voice of the mask. “Just tell Obi-Wan where we are going. Now, I believe that we have a ship to raid?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>———————————————</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Fives wasn’t tired. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>After they did that… whatever that was, the pirate crew had recommended getting some shut eye before arriving. Something about needing all the energy you could get when dealing with Hondo. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Fives had tried to sleep, honest. He was just too wound up. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The adrenaline from the fight earlier was still wearing off, but for Manda’s sake, he was on a </span>
  <em>
    <span>pirate’s</span>
  </em>
  <span> ship. Not just any pirate too, but </span>
  <em>
    <span>the pirate of all pirates. </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The Negotiator. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The Pirate Queen. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Then they had done some weird Force magic to make sure that the clones couldn’t talk about their face sensitivity. If that wasn’t enough, he was wearing a </span>
  <em>
    <span>sweater</span>
  </em>
  <span> after taking a </span>
  <em>
    <span>hot shower.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Maybe there was a small part of him that wanted to defect because if natborns lived like this all the time, facing charges of treason and desertion would be totally worth it. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>It was all just so </span>
  <em>
    <span>exciting</span>
  </em>
  <span> and </span>
  <em>
    <span>new</span>
  </em>
  <span> that it was hard to surrender himself to the clutches of sleep. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Echo and Hevy were snoring softly on the bunks above and beside him, but Fives needed to move. Silently sliding the blanket off of his body, he swung his legs off the bed (with a </span>
  <em>
    <span>real</span>
  </em>
  <span> mattress) and onto the ground. His feet (he was wearing </span>
  <em>
    <span>socks)</span>
  </em>
  <span> made no noise as he padded quietly through the silent ship. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The window showed the hyperspace tunnel and Fives observed the blue light streak by. It was beautiful in a way, and for a time, he just watched it. The peaceful darkness was soothing, and he began to nod off. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>A quiet </span>
  <em>
    <span>ping</span>
  </em>
  <span> jerked him alert. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Fives put down his hand and turned towards the offending noise that disrupted his silence. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>It was the holotable. A message had popped up.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Hey your majesty!</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Update from your favorite duo of the crew! M and I were having a bit of fun raiding a Trade Fed ship (don’t worry. explosions were a minimum) and guess who called? Apparently… Read More</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span> Fives almost unconsciously reached out to press the button to read the rest of it. It was just a message. Not that important right? No one would notice. He just needed to push… NO! Fives snatched his hand back before he opened it.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Oh this was not good.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>If there were three things that Fives excelled at, it was sticking his nose into other peoples business, pushing buttons, and letting curiosity overrule logic. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Echo had chastised him repeatedly for always looking through other people’s stuff or doing something Fives liked to call ‘going on an adventure’. He thought he had outgrown the childish curiosity, but clearly not. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The blue notification light was mocking him. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>If he pressed it, he would be violating the privacy of people who had been very kind to him. As a </span>
  <em>
    <span>vod,</span>
  </em>
  <span> Fives knew the value of privacy, having rarely ever had it. Besides, even if they were pirates, they had been nothing but courteous. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>From some stories from brothers on Coruscant or elsewhere, natborns were rarely that considerate to clones. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>But at the same time, he was dying to know what the message said. It sounded so </span>
  <em>
    <span>interesting. </span>
  </em>
  <span>There were two more Firebirds? Raiding Trade Feds (which he assumed to mean the Trade Federation) and explosions? His finger began to twitch. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Fives knew that he should go back to bed and pretend like it had never happened, but… </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>What could it really hurt? It was just a message, right?</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>After staring at it for another five minutes, Fives broke. Quickly glancing left and right to make sure everyone was still asleep, he pressed the button to read more. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Hey your majesty!</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Update from your favorite duo of the crew! M and I were having a bit of fun raiding a Trade Fed ship (don’t worry. explosions were a minimum) and guess who called? Apparently Seppies decided to invade Ryloth and Cham needs our help. As soon as we finish cleaning up here, we’re going to take the Memory over. </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>There is a blockade, but it shouldn’t be a problem with the new upgrades that Fee invented. No jedi either. The last one got killed. Cham wants us to help with the hostage situation and getting their stuff back from Wat Tambor. The greedy sleemo is robbing them blind while the twi’leks are dodging the bombers. </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>ETA for us is about two days. Whenever you finish up with raiding that base, come on down and join the party. </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Your Favorite,</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>S</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>PS Republic and Seps are looking for you. Both sides want an alliance. I don’t think I have to voice my opinion on this, but M and I are in agreement that we think the cost outweighs any benefits.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Fives stared at the message, rereading it a few times. There was a lot to unpack. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>A hand on his shoulders made him jump in the air. Fives spun around, heart pounding and life flashing, before he made eye contact with golden eyes that matched his own. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He heaved a sigh of relief. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>It was just Captain Rex. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The Captain tilted his head curiously and Fives scooted over to show him the message. His face was inscrutable as he read through it. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Sir?” Fives asked, carefully keeping his voice down. “Don’t we have troops on Ryloth?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Captain Rex’s eyes grew sad, and he seemed to age ten years in seconds. “Had,” he whispered. “The entire battalion was wiped out, including the jedi, holding off Seppies while Senator Organa arranged for supplies to be dropped to the locals.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The mood sobered up quickly. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Fives decided to venture another question. “What does this mean for us?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Rex put a hand on his chin, though it looked significantly less intimidating and professional when he was wearing a fuzzy sweater.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“It means we have a pretty good count of how many Firebirds there are, and we know where they are going next. It also means that they aren’t allies of the Separatists, but the only reason they are getting involved is because a friend called in a favor. It means that General Jinn and Skywalker are going to have a much harder time than predicted securing this alliance.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Captain Rex slipped out a piece of flimsy from the sleeve of his sweater and a pen from who knows where and copied the message down, word for word. Once he finished, he pressed</span>
  <em>
    <span> Mark Unread</span>
  </em>
  <span> and closed the message. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“We land in 5 hours. Get some shuteye, vod. You’re going to need it,” were his parting words before he vanished back into the darkness. The blue notification light still stared at Fives, but he ignored it, thinking about what Rex had said. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Getting up slowly, he made his way back to his bunk, bringing the blanket back up to his shoulders. He rolled over a few times, before settling on his back, staring at the bottom of Echo’s bunk. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Closing his eyes, Fives tried to force the swirling thoughts from his mind. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He didn’t get much sleep. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>———————————————</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The twenty minute hyperspace alarm was what woke Obi-Wan up. She groaned quietly as she sat up from the co-pilot seat. She had put the back all the way down, and it was rather comfortable to sleep in for a few hours. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>After yesterday’s adventure and the Force Vow, she very well deserved a few hours of rest. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Rise and shine, your majesty!” Quinlan said cheerfully from the pilot seat. “Grab me some caf, would ya?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Obi-Wan groaned again, giving him the side-eye. “Fine,” she muttered. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Slipping her mask on, she exited the cockpit and went to the fresher. Quickly fixing her hair, she opened the door and entered into the Roost.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Aayla was still napping, but Feemor was up. Judging by the looks of it, he was deeply entrenched in some sort of coding project. He acknowledged her presence with a nod, though his eyes never left his work. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Obi-Wan grabbed a bagel and began to munch quickly. Checking her HUD, there was a fair bit of time, maybe ten minutes before they needed to exit hyperspace. There was a new notification from Siri too. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>She filled a cup of caf for Quinlan as she read through it, snorting as she got to the ‘minimum explosions’. For a sniper and infiltration expert, they did like to blow things up, even if that was more of Aayla’s expertise. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>There was just something so inherently satisfying about watching something go </span>
  <em>
    <span>boom.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Slipping back into the cockpit, Obi-Wan handed the cup over without complaint. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Siri contacted me,” she said as Quinlan sipped the warm drink. “We’re going to head to Ryloth next.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Her best friend nodded consideringly. “Cham called?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Apparently. There’s a whole mess of hostages and probably human shields that we have to sort out,” she sighed. “It’ll be nice to see him again at least.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>It had been far too long since she had last seen the orange twi’lek. They had a pretty good relationship as her crew would drop off supplies whenever they had the time in exchange for a nice vacation for a week or so. Ryloth was really lovely when you came around the right seasons. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Should we get the rest of the people up? It’s five minutes until we leave hyperspace,” Quinlan said with a look in his eyes that promised mischief. Obi-Wan sighed.  </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Don’t murder anyone’s eardrums,” she warned. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“At least not permanently,” he replied cheekily. Obi-Wan smacked his arm, and Quin yelped as he tried to keep the mug from spilling. “Not the coffee, you monster!”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Obi-Wan almost felt bad as she watched Quin flip several switches that blared different obnoxious noises he had collected over the years. A speeder wreck from Malastare. That Cantina song in Mos Eisley played at 8x speed. Feemor’s shower singing. The screech that Maul made when they dumped him into a snow pile on Hoth. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Judging by the startled cries and various crashes, they were awake. Quinlan turned off the noises and switched on the intercom. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Good morning lovelies. It is your extremely handsome and very dashing pirate pilot speaking. Heads up that we are two minutes from leaving hyperspace. Get ready to disembark!” He announced cheerfully. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>&lt;I hate you guys,&gt; Aayla grumbled through the bond. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Obi-Wan stared at him. “You take way too much pleasure in the pain of others.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Quinlan just flipped a dreadlock and winked. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>They came out of hyperspace directly above Florrum. By all accounts, it was a dreary planet, but as they flew through the atmosphere, over the acid geysers and canyons, following the purple power lines, the overwhelming feeling was that Obi-Wan was home. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>It had been her home for years. After Melida-Daan, she had lived here with Hondos, learning the pirate trade. Nowadays, she lived more on the Memory, but it was still nice to visit once in a while. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Though, on the surface of Florrum, there were more problems.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Lightsaber wielding problems with a whole mess of Holier than Thou attitudes and “will of the force” crap. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The Firebirds had avoided Jedi detection for so long, and now this war had thrown them all for a loop. But even as she pondered the galaxy changing, they landed at Hondo’s compound. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>It was the same hustle and bustle, same tents, even the crates were in the same place. If there was anywhere that would be timeless, it would be Florrum. Sometimes Obi-Wan believed that Hondo was an immortal deity of mischief and alcohol. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Let’s face the music,” Quinlan grinned as he slid on his mask. Obi-Wan made a noise of agreement, and put her own back on. Pressing the button to open the door, they walked out together.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“We’re here,” she announced as she exited the cockpit. “Hondo’s waiting for us. Let’s return you guys back to your jedi.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The clones were looking a little disgruntled, probably from their wake up call. They were back in their armor and blacks, helmets tucked beneath the crook of their arms. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“You can keep the sweaters if you want,” she suddenly blurted. “It might be contraband, but you can have them if you’d like.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The younger clones’ eyes widened and the corners of her lips twitched. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Warning though. We are entering Ohnaka Gang territory. Hopefully we all will be out of here quickly, but just in case, don’t touch, eat, or drink anything, and keep an eye on your valuables at all times. That darned monkey-lizard can steal the wedding ring off of an Alderaanian Queen and be gone before she even realizes it's missing.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The awe quickly shifted to something akin to fear, and Obi-Wan stifled a laugh. Striding confidently forward, she hit the button to open the door with a little more enthusiasm than was necessary, not bothering to see if they were going to listen to her. She put her right foot forward and went down the walk. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Ahhh, Queenie!” Hondo yelled, swaggering up to her. She could sense the other members of her party coming down the walk behind her. “Have you thought about my offer?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Hondo, I’m just here to drop off some friends, maybe refuel, and go,” she replied. Her adoptive ‘parental’ figure grimaced slightly and rubbed the back of his neck. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, ah, you see, you… have visitors!” He swung his arms open, but Obi-Wan just narrowed her eyes. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Visitors?” She repeated flatly. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes, very important </span>
  <em>
    <span>jedi</span>
  </em>
  <span> visitors. They came all this way just to talk to you!”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Obi-Wan exhaled through her nose, trying to reign in any emotion. Exactly what Siri warned her of. She was suddenly bombarded by calm from all sides. She sent back her thanks back to her crew mates. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, did you tell them that I am a very busy woman?” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes, but—“</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Then I don’t know why we are discussing this. We don’t deal with jedi.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“How about a Sith Lord? We got one of those too, asking to see you.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Obi-Wan stiffened ever so slightly. “Who, </span>
  <em>
    <span>pray tell, </span>
  </em>
  <span>is this Sith Lord?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“He says he is Count Dooku, and that he is a Sith Lord. I say he sounds important and worth a fair amount of money in the right places,” he finished with a wink. “Caused me a fair bit of trouble, what with their escape attempts! Bad for business you know!”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>What.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Escape attempts?” she said slowly, hoping she heard him wrong.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Hondo nodded cheerfully. “Oh yes. I tied them to each other. Can you believe that Jedi and Sith worked together to try to escape? A very clever social experiment, if I do say so myself.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Obi-Wan mouthed the words social experiment, but no noise escaped her lips. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Quinlan’s shoulders shaking ever so slightly. Feemor looked to be almost struck dumb. Aayla’s mirth was cleverly hidden, but was leaking through her shields.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Well then,” she muttered. A little louder, Obi-Wan said, “We need to get going, but I can’t in good consciousness leave these fine men without a ride home. Is it possible that you could… release my visitors and send them on their way? It would be extremely helpful.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Hondo glowered momentarily, but then laughed. “Anything for you, my Queen.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>With that, he strutted away with a twirl of his trenchcoat, smirking. Obi-Wan could only watch him leave. Several questions were buzzing through her head, but she didn’t voice any of them. Instead, she turned back to her traveling companions.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Looking towards Quinlan, she announced, “You are going to get the ship ready. As soon as this is taken care of, we’re taking off.” Turning to Feemor, “You are coming with me to make sure that the Jedi get to where they are supposed to.” To the rest, “Soldiers, you can hang out here. Don’t drink anything and don’t mess with the Kowakian monkey-lizard. Ya’ika, make sure when the jedi come out, their men are still in one piece.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Everyone gave swift nods, and Obi-Wan longed for a drink more than ever. This was supposed to be a drop and go. Now she had to deal with the Jedi </span>
  <em>
    <span>and</span>
  </em>
  <span> a Sith Lord. At least the quarry from the raid on Rishi was plentiful.  </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>&lt;Relax,&gt; Quinlan said through their bond. &lt;It isn’t going to be that bad. Just shut them down and then go. Easy peasy.&gt;</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>&lt;You’re not the one who has to…&gt; Suddenly a thought occurred to her. &lt;Oh Force.&gt;</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Feemor turned his head towards her. &lt;What?&gt;</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>&lt;Looks like this won’t be the only social experiment,&gt; she sighed mentally. &lt;Remember who’s here?&gt;</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>&lt;What do you… ohhhhh,&gt; Quinlan began to cackle, which was a very strange sensation in someone’s head.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Aayla perked up, &lt;I’m confused.&gt;</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>&lt;Who did the clones say their jedi were again?&gt; Obi-Wan paused to take a deep calming breath. &lt;This is going to be the most convoluted lineage reunion of the century.&gt;</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>&lt;What do you mean… oh. Oh.&gt; Feemor was silent for a few seconds. &lt;Force have mercy,&gt; he sighed, resigned. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Quinlan was still cackling, and now Aayla was joining the mental giggling. &lt;Oh goodness, this is going to be so awkward!&gt; she laughed. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>&lt;Just get back to your job!&gt; Obi-Wan snapped. She really needed a drink or four. Maybe coffee. Quinlan and Aayla’s unrepentant mockery faded behind walls and he walked back towards the ship.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Feemor nudged her shoulder. “We should get going,” he said encouragingly. Mentally he added, &lt;I don’t want to spend anymore time than we have to in Jinn’s presence.&gt; </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Obi-Wan sighed, but nodded. Shoulders back, head high. She was a ruling monarch of the largest group in the galaxy. She wasn’t fearful of a temporary reunion between her and her former master.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Besides, he wouldn’t even know it was her. No need to worry.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Side by side, she and Feemor walked forwards towards the detention block of the compound. They were mostly empty, which was pretty surprising, but not that surprising. Any kidnapped higher ups on either side of the conflict were practically a go ahead signal to invade. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Hondo had operated under the radar for this long, and he wasn’t going to risk it… too much. Maybe if she came back a week from now, there would be some poor senator from a random planet that had gotten caught up in the weequay’s web. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>They turned a corner, and Obi-Wan stopped, frozen for a moment. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Sky blue, yellow brown, and grey blue eyes stared at her. Taking a quick breath, she smirked, even if they couldn’t see it. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Master Jedi. Count,” She greeted. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>———————————————</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Anakin tensed as four weequay pirates walked up to their shared cells.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Queenie’s here,” the first one growled. “Let’s go.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>They opened the cell, and the three captives stood up simultaneously. The pirates surrounded them, and began herding them forward. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Anakin hoped that Master Qui-Gon really understood the importance of what he had told them earlier. He had tried to explain it the best he could, but he just couldn’t help that Master Qui-Gon was an outlander. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The Negotiator was a true Pirate Queen. She had the allegiance of the gangs, syndicates, and crime families that had remained independent for so long. The only feat that topped that was completing the trials that drove most to madness and the rest to death.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Master Qui-Gon just didn’t understand how monumentous that was. Every hundred years or so, someone would complete the first challenges, but the final ones were near impossible. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Well, apparently not, because she finished them,</span>
  </em>
  <span> his mind supplied helpfully.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>They walked through hallways when he saw </span>
  <em>
    <span>her. </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>A masked woman turned the corner. She was wearing black and gold armor and a grey cloak. The flame with wings on either side embroidered on the center of her chest identified her as a part of the Firebirds, but Anakin didn’t need it. It was almost like there was something tugging him towards her. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>This was the Pirate Queen. This was the Negotiator. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He could feel her eyes watching them carefully. Another masked person followed her, wearing a similarly styled outfit and the same symbol, but silver instead of gold. Male, judging by the build. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Master Jedi. Count,” she greeted, nodding her head gracefully. That was a clear Outer Rim accent. The other pirate paused, standing on her right side. “Apologies for your current situation.” She didn’t sound very sorry.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“A pleasure to meet you, Ser Negotiator,” Master Qui-Gon said. Anakin nearly let out a sigh of relief. Master Qui-Gon had been listening.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“And you,” she responded, equally as cordial. “I don’t normally have much contact with Jedi.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“By choice?” his master asked, raising an eyebrow. The man behind the Negotiator snorted.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“More because of the differences in our profession,” she corrected smoothly. The expressionless mask turned towards Dooku. “I hear that you are a Sith Lord. I was under the impression that your kind had died out with Darth Bane.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“You are well informed for a pirate,” Dooku commented. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“It is difficult to be successful when one is uneducated,” the Negotiator replied simply. “One must know their opponents to end up on top.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Do you consider us to be opponents?” Dooku asked. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Depends. Are you going to stand in my way or hurt mine?” she shot back. Dooku inclined his head, acknowledging the point. “Now, I find no joy in pleasantries. You are to be freed and are allowed to leave. I would check your ships to make sure that none of Ohnaka’s gang has dropped trackers on it. They can be a tricky bunch.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Ser Negotiator, would you offer a moment of your time?” Master Qui-Gon asked as neutrally as possible. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Anakin tensed a little. Hopefully she would agree. Once they were talking, Master Qui-Gon would convince her to join the Republic. The GAR needed this alliance more than ever now that they understood that the person in front of them could command the entire Outer Rim with a word. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Another part of him desperately wanted to ask her for an autograph which would be a whole lot easier if they worked together, but that wasn’t important. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I hate to disappoint you gentlemen, but I am a very busy woman. I am only here to drop off some important valuables and I am going to be on my way.” Sweeping her cloak forward, she turned on her heel and walked away. The pirates prodded them to follow her. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>It would have been comical, Master Qui-Gon’s expression, if Anakin had been paying any attention to it. Instead, he was staring at his Queen. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Kitster would have never believed him. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He would have laughed in Anakin’s face if he told him that he had been </span>
  <em>
    <span>six feet</span>
  </em>
  <span> from the Pirate Queen. The Freer of Slaves. The Great Negotiator. Kitster would have said that he had gotten sand sickness and hallucinated such an event. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Anakin barely even noticed that they were being pushed out of the compound until the sun hit his skin. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“General!” Two familiar voices called. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Anakin flinched out of his stupor and looked around for the source of the voices. Commander Cody and Captain Rex stood at attention with three shinies behind them. One of the shinies was wearing a scuffed up pack and all of their armors looked a little worse for wear. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Cody, Rex, what are you doing here?” He asked, bewildered. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Rex shrugged nonchalantly. “The ship blew up. We hitched a ride.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Ha,” a Twi’lek in similar garb to the Negotiator muttered. “That is an oversimplification.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>One of the weequay pirates lifted a remote and pressed a yellow button. The bindings still attaching the three force users fell to the ground with a </span>
  <em>
    <span>clank</span>
  </em>
  <span>. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Now, let’s see you to your ships, and all be off then!” The Negotiator said brightly. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Unfortunately,” Dooku started, “we still need to have a conversation.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Everything quieted down. The Pirate Queen turned to face the Sith Lord. “No, I don’t believe we do,” she replied, significantly more coolly. Anakin suppressed a flinch at the change in attitude, even if he was mentally cheering at Dooku’s snub. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“But I really must insist,” he continued in his deep voice. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Count, you are on my turf. I suggest you leave before things get… messy.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The threat hung in the air, and for a second everything stopped. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Total silence. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Dooku stared for a few moments. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Finally, he relented. “We will meet again,” he rumbled, walking towards his Solar Sailer. The Negotiator turned to Anakin and Qui-Gon. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I suggest you do the same. Your men were really lovely company, but you best be leaving.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Anakin blinked. Wait…. his men got a ride from </span>
  <em>
    <span>The Negotiator?</span>
  </em>
  <span> That made their job slightly easier. Master Qui-Gon stepped forward. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Negotiator, are you sure that—“</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Your ship, </span>
  <em>
    <span>Jedi.”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Like Dooku before him, Master Qui-Gon cut his losses and retreated. Anakin stole one last glance as they boarded the shuttle. The Negotiator was watching them leave, spine ramrod straight. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The shuttle door closed, and Anakin got into the pilot seat.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“That was not a mission success, Master,” he muttered. Master Qui-Gon’s agreement pulsed across the bond. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“We will have other chances,” his Master soothed. “We just lost our best one.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“How will we track her down again?” Anakin demanded. A throat cleared behind them. Turning around, the blue and white armor gave away who it was. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I may be able to help with that,” Rex said, straightening. “Their next stop is going to be on Ryloth.”</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>THIS FIC IS NOT ABANDONED. I AM NOT DEAD YET.</p>
<p>Hello my lovelies. Welcome back!</p>
<p>Has this chapter been half finished in my drive for nearly three months? Yes. Have I rewritten it at least three times? Yes. Am I completely happy with the final product? Maybe not entirely, but I want to move on to bigger and better things... like moving past Season 1.</p>
<p>Sooooooooo I really like Siri Tachi and was sad that I haven’t been able to write a lot of her so hoorah! You got some of her POV! I want to pay more attention to Maul and Aayla, but they haven’t had a chance to really shine in the limelight (yet). </p>
<p>Fives can’t keep his curiosity to himself. He is also one of those people that always has to press the button for the elevator. Combine the two and you get some trouble.</p>
<p>Also, Ahsoka and Jesse are still in charge of the Resolute. The rest of the group needs to hurry scurry back before something major explodes. </p>
<p>Firebirds are going to be reunited to mess with some Separatists and free the oppressed. I am a little sad that I wasn’t able to save Ima Gun-Di (His name makes me both laugh and cry) and Captain Keeli, but sadly, I am already close to breaking the fabric of space time in two with my wonky timeline and messing around of dates. </p>
<p>Anywayyyyy hopefully life gives me more time. I might not update this fic next (probably next update is for another one of my fics that has been sitting on the shelf for a month). </p>
<p>So yeah. Hello there. I am still alive. That’s all I really wanted to say.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Chapter 7</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>About a three week time skip from the last chapter</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Aayla shifted in her hiding spot. She had been laying there for nearly an half an hour, watching the Separatist base and the twi’lek hostages, gathering intel. As important as her job was, it wasn’t particularly enjoyable. There were problem indent marks where she had been pressed against the ground.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It had been the same pattern since they had arrived on Ryloth almost three weeks ago. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Recon, plan, attack, move to the next town, repeat.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>So far ten villages were liberated and evacuated. Obi-Wan and Quinlan had headed off to the southern hemisphere where a large group of the Separatists were located as well as a few ion cannons. Aayla could feel the constant tug in the back of her mind. She could sense their exhaustion and boredom. They were probably still on the blurrg mounts. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Checking on the rest, she could Feemor’s concentration from where he was with Cham near the capitol of Lessu, helping to get some of the power to run more efficiently. Maul was annoyed, but the feeling vanished, quickly replaced with interest. Siri had an identical shift, most likely spotting something. They were several clicks away at another town doing recon. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Sighing to herself, Aayla scanned with her binocs again, suppressing the rage that came with seeing the fellow twi’leks, and concentrated on the tactical droid, planning her next move. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It was going to be tricky, especially with all the restrictions she had, but she could do it. With a small smile, she reached into her bag to pull out her supplies. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>There was a reason the Firebirds were so renowned, and it wasn’t just because their Captain was the Pirate Queen. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The first part of her plan was easy. It required a special kind of bomb that looked impressive, but didn’t actually do much damage. She didn’t want to be destroying the town. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dodging the various patrols was easy, practically child’s play. In fact, it used to be a game she would play when she was younger with </span>
  <em>
    <span>Kora. </span>
  </em>
  <span>Obi-Wan had wanted to keep her out of action until Aayla had been at least thirteen, but Quinlan had argued that it would help with keeping her out of harm's way if she wasn’t spotted.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Planting one of the bombs, she synced it to her controls, before moving to another spot, a little closer to the base. Setting the other bomb, she stood up, and pulled out her binocs again. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The droids were starting to move away from the where her bombs were set. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Good. That meant it would be more travel time for them to come and investigate. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Aayla moved a fair distance away from where the explosions would take place before activating the reprogrammed commando droids. The Firebird symbol was painted onto each one so the twi’leks wouldn’t probably not panic. The commandos would take care of the hostages while she rigged the courtyard tanks to explode. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Ready for commands,” the lead one intoned in a flat mechanical voice. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Free the hostages. Lead them to the subterranean levels by the east wall,” Aayla ordered. “Wait for my signal to begin.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The commando droid gave a jerky nod and moved away to get into position. Satisfied that they would follow orders, Aayla moved off in the other direction to complete her final preparations. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The base couldn’t get word out that they were under attack or they would call for reinforcements. Taking a deep breath, she prepared to jam their communications and set off the explosions. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Message to Group: Firebird Crew,” she whispered, and the green light lit up on the inside of her mask, indicating that it was transcribing. “Starting attack now. End message.” A </span>
  <em>
    <span>Send?</span>
  </em>
  <span> popped up on her HUD. “Confirm.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The ping indicated her message was sent and Aayla smiled. With that, she blocked their communication and a </span>
  <em>
    <span>boom</span>
  </em>
  <span> rattled her frame. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The droids all startled and began to move where she had set off the explosions. Taking the distraction, Aayla used the Force to jump over the wall, rolling as she landed. No one seemed to notice her arrival yet. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Pressing a button, she watched as the commando droids began to move. Aayla tried to watch them the best she could, but it was a little difficult when you are rolling under tanks and placing bombs. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Sir! The prisoners are escaping!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dang it. Her time was up. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Aayla burst out of hiding, firing at each of the droids in turn. She needed to get to the command area as quickly as possible to destroy the tactical droid. The fire from the reprogrammed commando droids joined hers as the group of twi’leks fled towards the tunnels. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Vaulting towards the door, she whipped out her lightsaber and carved an opening. The droids didn’t even stand a chance. With a mix of blasting and blade work, she made her way towards the center. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Pressing a few buttons, the door opened to the tactical droids and B-1’s surrounding a holotable. Aayla jumped on top of the table into the center of the holograms and with a single swing, beheaded the whole lot. The remaining droids scattered around the room were ended in a few more shots from her blaster. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>From the observation window, the remaining forces were gathering back in the courtyard. Perfect. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Ducking behind the nearest control station, she pressed the button on her wrist, and air shook with the resulting shock wave. Glass flew through the air as the window shattered, and Aayla used the force to keep any stray pieces from hitting her. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>As soon as the smoke cleared, she turned back to the </span>
  <em>
    <span>relatively </span>
  </em>
  <span>undamaged control center. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The holo table in the center caught her eye. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Despite being slightly cracked, it was on. Now that she was able to take a moment and the adrenaline was slowing down, she paid attention to what the holograms actually showed. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>There was a single republic cruiser facing off against the entire separatist blockade. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Aayla was no expert in space battles, but there was something off about that.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A little bit of slicing later, and she found a live transmission. Hacking into it was easy with the seperatist codes available from the center and though Maul could have done a better job, her work went relatively unnoticed. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The image popped up, and Aayla recognized the speaker as one of the jedi that had been on Florrum a few weeks ago. Skywalker. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“--been ordered to surrender myself, the entire crew of this vessel, and my ship in exchange for safe passage of food and medical supplies for the people of Ryloth.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The hologram switched to a Nemoidians, and it was probably safe to assume that he was the one in charge.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“A noble gesture, Jedi,”</span>
  </em>
  <span> the Nemoidian commented. </span>
  <em>
    <span>“And your capture would make me the envy of the Seperatist fleet!”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>An idea of where this was going was forming in her head, but surely they wouldn’t.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>After her time on Melida/Daan, Obi-Wan had made sure to teach all of her crew military strategies and rules. A refresher course was run once the Republic/Seperatist war began. If Aayla was correct, Skywalker was committing perfidy.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Sure enough, the Neimoidian vanished offscreen, but then reappeared. </span>
  <em>
    <span>“Skywalker, what treachery is this?! You have nothing to bargain with!”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“In that case, I’ll be going,”</span>
  </em>
  <span> Skywalker shot back cheerfully, as if he hadn’t just committed a serious war crime that could jeopardize the legitimacy of all future surrenders. </span>
  <em>
    <span>“Oh, you can still have my ship.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The transmission ended, and Aayla switched back to a full viewing of the space battle. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The republic cruiser was crashing directly into the droid command ship. She watched as the ship was destroyed. Another cruiser came out of hyperspace, turning on its side, and the remaining seperatist fleet fired on its belly. In the next five minutes, bombers wiped out nearly all the separatist frigates as three more light cruisers appeared out of hyperspace.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The Republic had arrived, and by the looks of that bomber squad destroying the rest of the fleet and incoming reinforcements, they were ready to invade </span>
  <em>
    <span>weeks</span>
  </em>
  <span> after leaving Ryloth to its own devices. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Before leaving the command center, she downloaded the message and all the data she could get her hands on and wiped the security cams. Just for extra measure, especially because jedi were here, she tossed a few grenades into the interior of the command center as she left to incinerate any evidence of a lightsaber.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Making her way towards the newly freed hostages, Aayla paused to insert the data stick into her wrist controls. “Send information to Group: Firebird Crew.” </span>
  <em>
    <span>Send?</span>
  </em>
  <span> “Confirm.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Their job just got a lot more complicated. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>-----------------------------------------------------------------------</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Obi-Wan stretched arms as she leaned against a tree stump. It was nice to be out of the full regalia for a little bit. The cannons were still a fair distance away, and they were currently camped out in a nearby forest. A few of the other Twi’lek freedom fighters milled around and Obi-Wan let out a deep breath and closed her eyes.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It wasn’t that she never took off the mask. In fact, a lot of the time when she wasn’t actively breaking the law, she went without it. Besides, it wasn’t like she could hide who she was. Mask or no mask, the Outer Rim would always sense who the Pirate Queen was.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It was one of the drawbacks of completing the Trials. She shivered remembering her descent into the belly of Coruscant and the pit that could have spelled her destruction. It had been worth it though. Millions of lives were now free of enslavement. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Besides, as long as they couldn’t track down who she had been, it was okay. Her ‘real’ name and backstory was constantly changing. Right now, she was Mina Brindle and Quin was her (adoptive) brother Lan Brindle.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Obi-Wan was in the bare minimum of her armor. She had borrowed a simple shirt and leather jacket, as well as a wrapping to keep her hair out of her face as she moved around the camp. The rest of her normal uniform was tucked inside one of the bags on a blurrg on the other side of the camp. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Her armor fought well, blocking blaster bolts and was comfortable to wear when standing up or moving around, but it was not designed for hours of sitting.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hungry?” Quin asked. Obi-Wan peeked her eyes open. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Sure,” she said, moving into a better eating position. Quinlan handed her a plate of food, and she took it gratefully. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Maul checked in a few minutes ago.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Obi-Wan inclined her head. “Is he doing alright?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah. He and Siri found a few tanks shuttling what they think to be treasure. They’re following them for now, trying to find out where they are going.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That’s good,” Obi-Wan murmured, staring at the forest. “Aayla sent a message yet?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“She began her attack,” Quinlan replied, but Obi-Wan could see the tenseness in his shoulders. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“She’ll be fine,” Obi-Wan soothed. “Ya’ika has the droids with her, and she’s smart. Besides, our girl knows her way around explosives better than anyone in the galaxy.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Despite Aayla being far from defenseless, Quinlan would still worry. The Firebirds were close, but Quin and Aayla always had a special relationship. After all, he had been the one to rescue her in the first place. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>In a different life and different setting, they might have been Master and Padawan. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They ate in silence for a few minutes. Obi-Wan didn’t really feel like bantering. They were in the middle of a war zone, and it brought back memories she didn’t like to remember. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Suddenly a few of the twi’leks perked up. Obi-Wan looked around to see what had happened. Then a few more started looking around. There was something up. Standing up slowly, she began to examine the area, drawing her blaster and a vibroblade. Twi’lek hearing was slightly better than humans, so it was probably that they were getting something that her baseline ears couldn’t quite hear. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>BOOM!</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Nope, she could hear it too. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The initial shockwave nearly knocked her over and the sky began to fill with blaster fire. All at once, everyone sprung into action, gathering up the campsite and getting on top of their mounts. Obi-Wan summoned the nearest binocs in the chaos, trying to see what the Seppies were firing at. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Three Republic light cruisers were descending on Ryloth surrounded by around a dozen gunships.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The cannons were forcing the cruisers back, but the gunships kept coming </span>
  <em>
    <span>right to their position. </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>This was </span>
  <em>
    <span>not</span>
  </em>
  <span> good. Obi-Wan looked frantically around. She needed to get her armor on </span>
  <em>
    <span>now. </span>
  </em>
  <span>If any jedi were there and saw her without her mask, there would be nothing she could do. They would recognize her force presence, and she wasn’t prepared for that. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The combined blaster fire and noise from the oncoming ships proved to be too much for many of the blurrg mounts. Obi-Wan could only watch in horror as the one saddled with both Quin’s and her own armor took off. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>&lt;Obi-Wan, we need to move!&gt; Quinlan practically yelled in the force bond. &lt;We can track it later.&gt; He caught the reins of a bare backed blurrg and swung himself on top. Obi-Wan grabbed his hand as he offered it, and pulled herself on behind him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>At least they still had their weapons. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They followed the group of rebels deeper into the forest even as she could sense the gunships landing behind them. Obi-Wan reached out with the Force, just barely, trying to sense if there were any jedi. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>There weren’t any. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Thank the Force for that small mercy, but she was confused. Why wasn’t there a jedi with the gunships?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The group came to a pause a fair distance away. “They are headed towards the cannons,” the leader of the group announced. “My Queen, will we aid?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Obi-Wan suppressed any reaction to the title with practiced ease and concentrated on the question. There was the risk of outing themselves if they joined the fight, but without a Jedi, the clones were going to be left defenseless. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Besides, if what they discovered on Rishi was correct, the clones technically fell under her domain and therefore were under her protection. There was really only one choice to make. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We will aid,” she decided. “Be prepared to breach the wall. The clones will be attracting the droids’ attention, so we can come from on top of the ridge and have the high ground advantage.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>A war cry went up among the resistance, and the group directed their blurrg towards the bunker. Obi-Wan and Quinlan took the lead as they could sense where the clones were heading. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Up there!” Quinlan called, pointing towards the ridge.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Split into two groups!” Obi-Wan ordered.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Half of the group veered to the left and the other to the right. Quinlan steered their blurrg to follow the group on the left. Obi-Wan readied her blaster, thanking her lucky stars it was different from the one she used on Rishi. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The blasterfire became louder as they drew closer. The blurrg jumped from rock to rock, and Obi-Wan prepared to join the fray. The moment the droids came into view, she began to fire. A sniper rifle would have been better for the shot she was attempting, but she managed. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The droids were completely caught off guard by the arrival of more people on the opposing sides and were quickly dismantled. The clones cheered as the group of the rebels dismantled the rest of the Seppies. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>As the smoke cleared, Obi-Wan slid off the back of the blurrg and looked over the edge at the clones. Her spine stiffened the tiniest bit as she saw a familiar set of armor.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Of course. Just her luck. Out of all of the commanders in the galaxy, it had to be the one she already knew. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Commander Cody was here.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>-----------------------------------------------------------------------</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Cody was doing his best to disguise his frustration as he listened to his General talk. </span>
</p><p>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>Ghost Company was going to the surface of Ryloth without jedi aid. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Again</span>
  </em>
  <span>. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Apparently after the mess on Naboo with the Blue Shadow Virus, General Jinn decided to back off from the action for a little bit, staying back in an advisory position while Cody was left to handle the assault on his own.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Not just that, but they were going to be working in a residential area, so his orders were to use only blasters and droid poppers for the attack. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Cody had great faith in his men, but there was no way that they were getting out of this with minimal casualties.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“--nd if you encounter her, do not engage. Alert General Windu.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Oh yeah. That was the other thing.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The Negotiator and her crew happened to be on Ryloth. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It had been a few weeks since his adventure with the pirate, but the higher ups were not giving up about an alliance between the two. In fact, if anything, they seemed to be more desperate for one. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>General Skywalker had gone off, equal parts giddy and star struck, about the Pirate Queen. From what he could gather from the impassioned speech, Ben not only commanded an elite team, but also was owed the allegiance of the entire outer rim, including the crime syndicates and something called ‘the Council’. Skywalker also mentioned something about </span>
  <em>
    <span>immunity</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Cody had actually been in the room during the meeting, and did </span>
  <em>
    <span>not</span>
  </em>
  <span> like the look on the Chancellor’s face when Skywalker mentioned that. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Besides, he was trying to forget about the pirates and that weird tug he felt when he looked at Ben. It was strange and he didn’t like it. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“May the Force be with you.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Internally sighing with relief that the briefing was over, Cody saluted, put on his helmet, and got onto the gunship. It was only after the door closed and they took off that he let his shoulders slump a little bit. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Commander, are you alright?” Wooley asked. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yes,” he said, waving off their concern. “We just have an extra challenge today. We are taking the city of Neh’bat.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Shouldn’t be a problem,” Waxer muttered, and Cody fixed him with a glare beneath his helmet, and the trooper shrunk back. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Our orders have us using only blasters and droid poppers for minimal destruction. No rockets or detonators,” Cody continued. “Check your aim. Keep an eye out for the locals. Am I understood?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Sir yes sir!” Came the immediate response. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“If we have to free the tailheads, the least they can do is getting out of our way,” Boil said under his breath. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Explosions began to rock the ship as the Separatists launched their defense. Cody gripped the handle a little tighter, hoping to the force that as many of his men made it to the ground as possible. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>General Windu’s hologram sprang to life. </span>
  <em>
    <span>“Qui-Gon, we— wait, where is General Jinn?”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Cody winced beneath his helmet. “He is… still on the ship, sir.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Several emotions flashed over General Windu’s face in the space of a few seconds, before he settled with a resigned sigh. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“I’m sorry, Commander.”</span>
  </em>
  <span> General Windu’s face seemed to age even more. </span>
  <em>
    <span>“We can’t risk landing the larger transports until you take out those guns.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Cody was glad he was wearing a helmet. He didn’t want his men to see the dismay on his face. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We’ll take care of it, sir,” he forced out. The image winked out. “</span>
  <em>
    <span>Vode,</span>
  </em>
  <span> we aren’t getting any reinforcements until those cannons are out of commission.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Here we go again,” someone muttered sarcastically under their breath. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Cody was inclined to agree. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The gunship skidded to a stop, and the group jumped out. They had landed on the outskirts of a forest, and the village was about a few clicks north of their position. They couldn’t get closer for fear of the guns, so they would need to run for the rest of the way. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Cody was almost relieved at the run. The familiarity of racing in armor was enough to keep him grounded. He counted each footfall as he made his way forward and through the trees. </span>
  <em>
    <span>One, two, three, one, two, three, one, two, three, one, two…</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He came into a small clearing, and in the few seconds before he exited, he noticed a few things. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>First, the remnants of a hastily covered fire. Second, animal tracks leading deeper into the woods. Third, enough footprints to justify roughly ten to twenty people. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But then he was moving on, deeper through the trees and the forest. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It seemed like the twi’lek rebels had been there. They had been part of the briefing. Led by Cham Syndulla (an associate of the Pirate Queen from the evidence in the message Rex found), the local resistance had been fighting back against the Seppies and doing a pretty good job of it. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Cody assumed that they had probably been startled by the arrival of the Republic due to the sloppy coverup of the camp. The fire couldn’t have been out for more than a few minutes. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Still, he kept running, all the way until ground fire began to whiz by his face, and he ducked behind a tree, returning fire. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A wall with mounted guns and about twenty droids by his count stood between them and the village. He could hear some of his men fall to the ground behind him, and tried to push that aside to focus on the attack. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Sniping would not get rid of the guns inside the watch towers on top of the wall, but if they didn’t get rid of them, his men were dead meat. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“That bunker is going to be a problem, sir!”</span>
  </em>
  <span> A shiny called over the wall, voicing Cody’s exact thoughts. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Leave that to me! Keep firing! Waxer! Boil! Get droid popper’s ready!” He ordered. His two best scouts gave him a quick nod, and followed him closer to the wall. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They stopped behind a cluster of boulders. It was as close as they could go without getting peppered with holes. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We have to try throwing it into the watchtower,” Cody explained. “How good is your arm?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Waxer is better than me.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m decent.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Cody handed Waxer a droid popper, and watched him get ready to throw. Waxer jumped up and threw it with all his might, but the toss went short. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Sir, we need to get closer to the wall if we want to get rid of that one,” Waxer shouted over the blaster fire. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Try the other one,” Cody said. Waxer nodded, and tossed it to the other watchtower. By some miracle or maybe a gust of wind, the popper made it inside. All of the droids collapsed to the ground. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We still have one more bunker left,” Boil said. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Cody nodded, trying to figure out how to get close enough to get rid of the droids. He almost missed the thundering footsteps of animals. Jerking his head up, he looked to the top of the ridge above. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A group of twi’leks riding large animals appeared from both sides of the ridge and started firing from the high ground. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The droids were completely unprotected from that angle. A cheer went up among his men as the droids were destroyed. Cody stood up slowly as the last of the clankers were demolished and surveyed the resistance group. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They were all outfitted with one or two blasters, riding a large native animal. They were all covered with a dust and dirt, but that was to be expected fighting on a planet like Ryloth. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Though, among the sea of twi’leks, there were two humanoids. Cody peered curiously at them. The first was male, probably a Kiffar, judging by the facial tattoos.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The second, was a woman, and as she slid off of the animal, she turned towards the clones, and Cody was struck by something indescribable. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Red hair was tied back by some kind of wrapping and a leather jacket covered a simple white shirt. Ice blue eyes that could pierce durasteel were staring over the battlefield. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Over the private comms, there were at least four wolf whistles. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The woman climbed to the edge of the watchtower with the Kiffar. Climbing down through the open window, she hopped inside, pressed a few buttons, and the wall began to lower. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The other twi’lek resistance fighters began to climb down from on top of the ridge. The one out in front approached Cody, so he dragged his eyes away from the woman, who was now talking to the Kiffar. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Welcome to Ryloth,” the twi’lek said. “Better late than never.”</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Hello there!</p><p>Surprise! I am still alive!</p><p>Bet you didn’t see that one coming. </p><p>FIRST AAYLA POV! She is a little less serious than in canon (seeing she was growing up around pirates instead of jedi and Hondo instead of Yoda), but she is still wonderful and can kick butt. </p><p>Each of the Firebirds have a sort of ‘thing’. Siri is a sniper. Maul is unusually good at infiltration. Feemor is the tech guy. Obi-Wan leads them all and Quinlan is her right hand. Aayla’s thing is explosives. Lots of them. If you want something to go BOOM, she’s your gal. </p><p>Obi-Wan does not have her mask right now. It does have a tracker in it, so it isn’t lost forever, but she doesn’t really have time to search for it, and now that they have seen her without it, putting it on would be suspicious. She doesn’t want the republic to know her real face (it makes it much easier to track her), so for now, she just has to deal. </p><p>Also, she missed Aayla’s second message with the information due to the fact that she doesn’t have her mask with the HUD, but the rest of the Firebirds didn’t. </p><p>Other thing - Perfidy is basically false surrender to lure the other side into a trap, and also happens to be a serious war crime. It is also used several times in the Clone Wars series but the Republic. Take with that what you will. </p><p>There are a few more resistance fighters than in canon because of the Firebirds being able to liberate the towns a little more quickly. A lot of people joined Cham after that, and with the addition of more people with capable leadership skills, they were able to spread out a little bit more. </p><p>I won’t bash Jinn here, but he is an... older gentlemen. Just thinking about what happened in the Phantom Menace where he tired very quickly, I don’t think he would really be suited for long term campaigns like the one on Ryloth, but his problem is that he doesn’t inform people of the changes in plans. </p><p>Say what you want, but I think Mace Windu is a good guy and I like him a lot. He is under a lot of stress and shows care for his clones. Jinn is going to get an earful and a half about leaving his men on their own. When it comes to the Jinn v disaster lineage padawans, Mace would be on the side of the padawans. I think I implied it earlier, but Mace and Feemor were good friends, so Feemor’s disappearance really stung. </p><p>Now, in the tags, I mentioned Codywan. Now the groundwork is in place. It will be a slow burn, but STILL HAPPENING. Fear not Blyla shippers, that may also be a future thing. I just need to rig events for them to actually... meet. Ya know?</p><p>We will be doing a lot of jumping around the planet in the near future, so heads up. Right now, we have the Firebirds split in four places. </p><p>Well, that is that. Have a lovely day people! Thanks for reading!</p><p>- RobinRoost</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. Chapter 8</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>There was nothing quite like waiting above a battlefield. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The anxiety and uncertainty ate at you, but you were also filled with adrenaline for the fight about to occur. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Ponds thought it was worse right now because there was fighting happening, but he just wasn’t a part of it. It was killing him, not knowing what was going on, especially being so close. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Especially when he could feel that there was something wrong. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>By no means was Ponds force sensitive, but he could read a room. The moment he walked into the bridge, the first thing he noticed was silent, stiff shoulders and his Jedi nowhere to be seen. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Where is General Windu?” Ponds asked the nearest </span>
  <em>
    <span>vod</span>
  </em>
  <span>, Mix, if he was correct. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“He left after sending a transmission to Commander Cody,” Mix replied. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>That didn’t make sense. Why would he be contacting Kote? </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Wasn’t General Jinn supposed to be leading this campaign?” Ponds asked, not liking where this was heading. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“He stayed behind,” a clone from below the deck said. “If I were to guess, the General went to… ah, </span>
  <em>
    <span>talk</span>
  </em>
  <span> to him.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Never seen the General that furious before,” someone muttered under their breath. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>This… wasn’t good. General Windu was very even tempered and serene, but he was vicious when defending the lives of his troopers. Ponds had to do damage control before the General would tear the other jedi apart.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Slipping out of the bridge, Ponds began to quickly make his way towards the last place General Jinn had been seen, knowing that General Windu was probably going there at the same time. If he moved fast, he may be able to cut him off—</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“And tell me, why did you not alert me or any other member of the chain of command about this change?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Nope, too late. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>They were already in the hangar too. The men were going to hear. Ponds internally groaned.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“It must have slipped my mind,” General Jinn said.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Ponds could practically visualize the vein on General Windu’s forehead pulsing even if he couldn’t see the two jedi. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“It </span>
  <em>
    <span>slipped</span>
  </em>
  <span> your mind?” Came the barely restrained growl. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Slipping your mind like forgetting to mention you left your padawan behind?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Dead silence. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I apologize. That was uncalled for,” his General murmured. “Though you would do well to remember that there is a real cost to having things ‘slip your mind’ in war.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>General Windu moved and appeared in Pond’s line of sight. Falling into step with him was easy, and they walked in tense silence. The General was heading to an empty private meeting room, and Ponds shuffled inside without too much complaint. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The moment the door closed behind him, his General’s shoulders sagged. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“My apologies,” General Windu said. “I let my temper get the best of me.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Ponds shrugged. “Happens to the best of us. Your temper is nothing compared to Wolffe’s though.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>General Windu gave a sort of choked laugh. “Jinn’s been a thorn in my side for years. I can’t summon up the patience for him anymore. Not after everything.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>After everything what?</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Despite knowing that this was probably breaking some sort of regs, Ponds asked, “Do you want to talk about it, General?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>His General shrugged. “Only if you call me Mace,” he said. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>That was definitely breaking regs, but Ponds was curious. “Yes sir—I mean Mace.” He could feel his face heating up at his General—Mace’s laugh. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“This is definitely not a conversation that I want to be called General in,” General Windu— </span>
  <em>
    <span>Mace</span>
  </em>
  <span>, he corrected himself again. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Mace</span>
  </em>
  <span> waved a hand and two chairs pulled out for Ponds and himself. Ponds watched as his General sat down hard on the chair. Tucking his helmet beneath his arm, he sat down himself. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Did you know that Skywalker is Jinn’s fourth apprentice?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Out of all of the statements that could have come out of his General’s mouth, Pond’s was not expecting that one. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“No, sir—Mace,” Ponds stuttered, as his mind tried to figure out why it was important. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Mace huffed out a small laugh. “Not many do. His first padawan, Feemor Adaniss, was a good friend of mine. We met the first time just after he just became a knight. I didn’t really think much of him at first. Then life happened and we didn’t meet for several years later. Jinn had taken another padawan, named Xanatos DuCrion. DuCrion ended up falling just before he was about to become a knight.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Ponds tilted his head slightly. “Falling… to the darkside?” He clarified. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Mace nodded. “Jinn was struck very hard by his apprentice’s fall. He decided that he was a failure of a master and repudiated his </span>
  <em>
    <span>padawans</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>It took a moment to realize that Mace meant </span>
  <em>
    <span>both. </span>
  </em>
  <span>“Wait, did Feemor do anything wrong?” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>His General just shook his head. “No, though because he was repudiated, people started to… avoid him. I had recently been promoted to the council, and with all the paperwork and time that required, I barely had any time. The stress started to get to me, so I went to the salles in the middle of the night, and I found Feemor there. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>A small smile that seemed out of place on the usually stern jedi graced the Koran’s features. “That was the start of our… strange friendship. It mainly consisted of midnight sparring and me hiding out in his apartment to eat and do paperwork without anyone bothering me.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Mace’s expression grew fond as he reminisced. “He had started to take up mechanics. He was very good at it. Every week there was some new project. He had bins of scraps everywhere.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Suddenly the fond expression began to harden. “It was around this time that Yoda found a young initiate by the name of Obi-Wan Kenobi and decided that she was going to ‘fix’ Qui-Gon. Through several machinations, he managed to get the two of them bonded as a Master Padawan pair despite Jinn swearing that he would never take another apprentice.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Ponds hadn’t heard of a General Adaniss or a General Kenobi. Something cold began to gather deep into the pit of his stomach. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“It was alright for about a year and a half, until a mission to Melida/Daan. Another master was stranded there, and Jinn and Kenobi were dispatched to retrieve them. Kenobi didn’t come back.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“She died?” Ponds exclaimed. Mace shook his head. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“No. She stayed behind. There was a civil war going on, and she stayed to help aid a third faction made up of primarily children. Jinn decided that that was the one day he was going to actually follow orders and returned without his padawan.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Civil war. Faction of </span>
  <em>
    <span>children. </span>
  </em>
  <span>Without his padawan. The words rattled around Ponds brain for a bit as he struggled to comprehend even that much. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>After several seconds, he gave up and buried his head in his hands. “Why do I get the feeling it gets worse?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Because it does,” Mace said simply. “Jinn neglected to tell anyone about what really happened. He just told us she left the order. Apparently </span>
  <em>
    <span>it slipped his mind</span>
  </em>
  <span> to alert us that he had left her without her lightsaber fighting a guerrilla war with other children.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The words from the argument earlier came back to Ponds and he started to piece everything together even as Mace continued. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“About a year after Kenobi left the order, Feemor suddenly disappeared along with a padawan who was good friends with Kenobi by the name of Quinlan Vos. The only clue to where they went was a single note was that he was ‘going to make sure that Jinn didn’t destroy another child’s life’.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Mace was silent for a moment. “Neither of them came back.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“What?” Ponds said, looking at his General. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“They disappeared off the face of the galaxy and were assumed to be dead along with Kenobi, who also vanished,” Mace murmured. The melancholy on his face was as plain as day. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“You blame Qui-Gon.” It wasn’t a question. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Partially,” he said, tired and worn. “I also blame myself. If we had searched for Kenobi sooner or spoke up against Yoda, maybe I would still have Feemor to ground me.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Ponds didn’t know what to say after that, so they just sat in silence. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>-----------------------------------------------------------------------</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The city was quiet. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Cody didn’t like it.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>After dismantling a patrol or two on the inside of the wall, there had been barely any movement and it made him antsy.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The resistance fighters had proven to be more than adequate fighters. They were not shinies, but Cody could tell that they weren’t real soldiers. They were new to fighting long term battles like this and it showed. In the end, they were just people fighting for their homes. No military experience. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>All except for one. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The woman from the wall earlier kept catching his eye. Maybe it was the red hair that stood out against the dreary browns and greys or how she stepped with perfect confidence, even if it was rocky terrain, but she continued to hold his attention. Every time he heard her accented voice (Coruscanti, if he was not mistaken), his head found her almost immediately. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>She spent nearly every spare minute with the Kiffar. According to some chatter he picked up on, they were adoptive siblings. He didn’t want to know why that made him feel a little lighter. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>After studying her for a while, Cody had come to a conclusion that she had been a soldier. She was not nearly as affected by the horrors of the battle field and moved with the confidence of a former commander. Not to mention her shots rivaled some of his own men’s, if not his own.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“We revealed ourselves earlier than was planned, so a surprise attack is out of the picture. We need to know what the droids have in store for us,” she was saying. “I don’t like the idea of flying in blind.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Neither do I,” the leader of the twi’lek group, Ounok, agreed. “And we lost our point of contact to Syndulla, so we need to reconnect as soon as possible.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Aayla probably finished with liberating the other city,” the woman mused. “She’s only a day's ride away and might be able to reinforce us.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“She would still have to move all of the refugees to base camp, so assistance may not come fast enough,” Ounok sighed. “It is probably going to be just us and the Republic against whatever awaits us.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Cody watched the dynamic with interest. Though the one twi’lek was in charge, he would almost always defer to the woman for judgement.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I can send my best scouts ahead,” Cody offered. “They can give us a clearer picture.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Both the woman and the twi’lek leader looked at each other before nodding in agreement.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Cody took his leave, quickly scanning the sea of white helmets for two of his most recent headaches. </span>
  <em>
    <span>There. </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Boil! Waxer!” He called. The two turned to him and immediately snapped to attention. “Come with me.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I guess we’re the best,” Cody heard one of the two of them say. He made a mental note to have them do a few extra laps once they got back to the Maverick. They could do with having their ego taken down a couple notches. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Cody spotted Wooley by the edge of their ‘base’ of operations. The shiny could probably use some experience. “Wooley! You too!”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Mind if I join?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>No, he did </span>
  <em>
    <span>not </span>
  </em>
  <span>jump. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The woman was standing there, peering at him with her ice blue eyes. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Manda,</span>
  </em>
  <span> she was quiet. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Not at all,” Cody stuttered out. Something warm filled his chest as a small happy smile graced her features. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The quintet moved silently through the city, guns at the ready. Cody shifted uncomfortably. The eerie quiet was gnawing at him. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“So, you’re from Coruscant?” Waxer asked. The woman laughed, and something warm filled Cody’s stomach. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I spent my early childhood there, yes,” she said. “Though, the last time I was there was nearly a decade ago. Was it the accent?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Waxer nodded sheepishly, and she smiled in response. Cody may have watched it a little longer than necessary. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“So, why are you here?” Wooley asked, but immediately stiffened. Cody was glad for his helmet to hide his wince. “I mean— oh </span>
  <em>
    <span>manda</span>
  </em>
  <span> that came out wrong, but—“</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“What is a baseline human doing on Ryloth?” She interrupted smoothly. “My brother and I usually spend a week or two here every so often for work, but due to—“ she gestured vaguely around with one hand, “—this, I can’t exactly… uh, leave.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>They were silent after that. Something tickled Cody’s mind as they walked by house after house, each one dark. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Buildings are just buildings. What really makes a city are the inhabitants,” he murmured. “So… where are they?” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Signalling for a halt, Cody turned back to his men. “We’ll take the courtyard. You two take the south sector. Meet back at command at 0600. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Am I understood?”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes sir!” Boil said, already moving. Waxer followed closely behind. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The shrunken group continued forward towards the courtyard. Weaving through the various streets, there was still not a single living soul to be seen. Possibilities of what had happened, each one more unsettling than the next, raced through his mind. Cody flinched when the woman put a hand on his shoulder. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Listen,” she hissed. Cody strained his ears to hear what she was hearing.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Clankers. </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s coming from over there,” Wooley whispered. With a collective nod, they began to track the noise. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Moving through a dark alley, Cody spotted a patrol of B-1’s at the end. He ducked behind a pile of boxes, pulling Wooley and her with him. For some reason, he was painfully aware of the closeness of their bodies as they hid together. The group waited until the patrol walked past before making their way forward to observe the defenses. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Even with the naked eye, Cody could see that the Seppies had spared no expense guarding the artillery. There were droids </span>
  <em>
    <span>everywhere. </span>
  </em>
  <span>He pulled out a set of binocs to get a better image. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s not going to be easy getting to those guns, sir,” Wooley muttered from behind him. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“There is </span>
  <em>
    <span>always</span>
  </em>
  <span> a way, Wooley,” Cody said firmly before refocusing on scanning. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The enhanced visual he got wasn’t promising. Several more patrols and tanks. Only two entrances into the courtyard as well as he could see. The shiny was right. It wasn’t going to be easy. As he continued to scan, something caught his eye.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Wait,” he muttered, refocusing the binocs. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Oh no. </span>
  </em>
  <span>“Twi’leks. They’re holding all the survivors hostage.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“We need to tell the others,” the woman murmured. Cody suddenly realized he didn’t even know her name. “Ounok is not going to be happy.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Creeping back, the trio slowly made their way back to the command area undetected. The woman walked straight to Ounok, and Cody followed. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“What did you find?” The twi’lek asked. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Cody’s spine instinctively straightened as he went into ‘briefing mode’. “There are two openings to the courtyard, but there is a complication. The Seppies— I mean, Separatists have rounded up all the villagers and are using them as shields.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Ounok nodded, considering. “My— I mean, Mina, what do you think?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The woman— Mina tilted her head contemplatively. Cody saw out of the corner of his eye that she was fingering her blaster. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I think that we should—“ she whipped out her gun and fired on the roof above them. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Cody ducked as a probe droid fell down on the table in front of them. It sparked and sputtered a few times before going out completely. Mina twirled her blaster and holstered it. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Thousand apologies,” she said. They just stared at her. Clearing her throat uncomfortably, she shifted slightly. “The problem is going to be the tactical droid. From the other towns we went to and the fact that they are guarding the artillery, I wouldn’t be surprised if extra ‘protections’ were in place.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Ounok nodded. “Kala’din City had the nexu.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Cody startled. “A </span>
  <em>
    <span>nexu?”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“There used to be more of us.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The mood sobered quickly after that. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>-----------------------------------------------------------------------</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Boil flinched at another building groaning. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I’ll tell you, Waxer. This is creepy,” he said as they passed another empty house. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Do you think they killed all of them?” Waxer asked. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, there are no bodies,” he pointed out. “They were driven from their homes. I don’t think they had a—“ a sudden noise made him bring up his blaster. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Had a what?” Waxer prompted. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Had a choice,” Boil sighed, bringing down his gun and continuing down the path. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>They kept walking in silence. Every noise made him jump. It was bad form, but the town was giving him the creeps. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The sound of rocks scattering drew his attention. He and Waxer exchanged a look and went to either side of the alleyway. With a nod, they rushed inside and aimed their guns at…</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>What in the world?</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Crouched behind a few boxes was a small blue-green twi’lek. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Ah, it’s just a little girl,” Boil said, relaxing his stance. There was no danger. They were fine. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, what are we going to do with her?” Waxer asked. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Woah woah woah, why do </span>
  <em>
    <span>we </span>
  </em>
  <span>have to do </span>
  <em>
    <span>anything?”</span>
  </em>
  <span> Boil demanded. “We’ve got a mission to finish.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“We should do something!” Waxer protested. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Boil didn’t where this was headed. He just needed to get Waxer out of here before he suggested something stupid like—</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I say we take her with us!”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Oh heck no. </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“You can’t be serious,” Boil groaned. He rapidly tried to think of a logical reason to keep Waxer from adopting the kid. “She’ll only slow us down!” The girl cowered at his harsh tone. “See? She’s afraid of us.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>A noise interrupted their conversation. It sounded vaguely mechanical. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Not us!” Waxer said. “Quick! Hide!”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Boil spared a moment to identify a probe droid before hiding a pillar. As soon as it left, he turned to Waxer. “That was a recon unit. We better get moving.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“We can’t leave her here!” His brother protested in the tone of voice that suggested that he would not give up on this point. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Fine,” he sighed. “We’ll take her.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Crouching down in front of the small girl, he knelt slowly. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Be careful,” Waxer whispered. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Don’t worry Waxer,” Boil replied, reaching out to her. “I don’t think she’s armed.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The girl looked at his outstretched hand and promptly chomped down on it. A noise of pain escaped him before he could stop it, and he quickly withdrew his hand.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Little tailhead bit me!” He growled. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Stop! Stop! You’re scaring her,” Waxer said, trading places with Boil. “She probably thinks we’re droids.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He withheld his sigh as he watched his brother put aside his </span>
  <em>
    <span>only weapon</span>
  </em>
  <span> and took off his helmet in order to get closer to the little girl. A recon droid had just passed. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s alright,” Waxer soothed. “See? I’m flesh and blood just like you!” The little twi’lek still backed up. “She looks half starved,” his brother murmured. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>That was his cue. Checking his pockets, Boil found a ration bar. “Uh, here,” he said, handing it to Waxer, who in turn handed it to the small girl. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>She sniffed it once, twice, before snatching it out of Waxer’s hand. The little girl ate defensively, as if they were about to steal it from her. Boil sighed, removing his helmet. Maybe she would relax a little. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The girl paused her eating to point at them in turn. “Nerra,” she said, gesturing to Boil. “Nerra!” She announced moving to Waxer. His </span>
  <em>
    <span>vod</span>
  </em>
  <span> shook his head. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“No, I’m</span>
  <em>
    <span> Waxer</span>
  </em>
  <span> and he’s </span>
  <em>
    <span>Boil,”</span>
  </em>
  <span> he said, putting emphasis on the names. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Nerra. Nerra,” the girl said again. The little smile that she wore while saying the two strange words was almost too much. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Boil put on his helmet to disguise his growing dismay. Now was </span>
  <em>
    <span>not</span>
  </em>
  <span> the time for Mandalorian child instincts to start kicking in. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, you’ve made a friend. Mission accomplished,” he said, rolling his eyes, trying to squash any feeling of connection to this child. “Can we go now?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He started walking before he would be tempted to turn back around. His brother still hadn’t moved. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Come on kid,” Waxer chirped. “Come on,” his </span>
  <em>
    <span>vod</span>
  </em>
  <span> urged again. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The little girl just continued to nibble on her snack and ignore Waxer entirely.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Look, she doesn’t even want to go. Little” </span>
  <em>
    <span>ad’ika</span>
  </em>
  <span> “monster was fine before we came along, so let’s </span>
  <em>
    <span>move.”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He went around the corner and began to walk forward. Waxer joined him a few seconds later. They kept going through the streets and by the empty houses.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I wonder what happened to her family,” Waxer murmured. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“They’re probably dead,” Boil said bluntly. “Hopefully she’ll survive this mess.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>They kept moving and Waxer kept glancing over his shoulder repeatedly for some strange reason. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“So what happens to her? I mean, after we leave?” Waxer asked. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I don’t know,” Boil admitted, and Waxer began to turn around in the direction of where the little girl had been. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Nope. Not happening, </span>
  </em>
  <span>he growled internally. “</span>
  <em>
    <span>Don’t</span>
  </em>
  <span> get any ideas. We are </span>
  <em>
    <span>not</span>
  </em>
  <span> taking her with us.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>How would they even take care of a kid? The Maverick wasn’t exactly safe. Besides, there was weaponry everywhere. Maybe if they had a child lock on the door— </span>
  <em>
    <span>Oh force, I’m turning into Waxer. </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Said Waxer stopped, facing the way they had come. “She’s gone!” He exclaimed. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m sure the little biter will turn up,” Boil muttered halfheartedly, still occupied with trying to get rid of the ideas of how to have a kid on the Maverick before he would be tempted to actually consider them. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>They turned to go forwards again and Boil flinched when he saw the little girl standing in front of them. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey! There you are!” Waxer said cheerfully, booping her on the nose. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“How’d she get in front of us?” Boil demanded. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Had she been following them the entire time?</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Nerra! Nerra!” She repeated, tugging on Waxer’s blaster and pointing to something ahead of them. She gave one last tug and took off. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Wait, don’t go that way! That’s where the recon droid went!” Waxer shouted. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Waxer, let it go,” Boil said firmly. He didn’t want his brother racing into a pit full of droids. He wouldn’t survive that. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m not just going to let the droids get her!” Waxer exclaimed and ran off after the little girl. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Just trying to keep you alive!” Boil snapped, before racing after his </span>
  <em>
    <span>vod. </span>
  </em>
  <span>“Darn if I know why,” he muttered mostly to himself. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The little biter was fast. She squeezed through small gaps between rocks that Boil had to hurdle over and kept pace impressively for something that barely reached his waist. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Where’s she going?” He heard Waxer say from up ahead of him. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>For a moment, he thought that they had lost her, but she reappeared behind a bent pillar in front of them. They continued the chase, following her flying lekku as they raced through all sorts of obstacles. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Boil turned one more corner, already trying to spot her small form running, when he found she was completely still and standing next to Waxer. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Good, you caught her,” Boil sighed. “You know, I have binders if we need ‘em.” Waxer’s helmet jerked towards him. “What?” He defended. It was a perfectly reasonable solution. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The small girl pulled Waxer towards one house. Boil waited a moment before following them. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“What are we doing here anyway?” He asked no one in particular as they went inside the abandoned building. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>It was dark on the inside, but seeing as it was mostly defensible, Boil allowed himself to sit down on a pile of rubble and take off his helmet. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I guess, this was her home,” Waxer murmured. “Poor little thing. She lost it all.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Boil stared at the wall, trying to picture what this house would have been like before the Separatists arrived. Much lighter, happier, probably filled with laughter and Ryl. For a moment, he imagined a life outside of war and worry. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>It seemed like a fantasy. A mere figment of imagination. All Boil’s life had been centered around war. What would he do when they won? What would he do if they lost?</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The sound of sobbing jerked him out of his thoughts. The small twi’lek was hugging Waxer like he was the last remaining sentient in the galaxy. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Sliding off his rock, he approached the small girl, kneeling in front of her. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Don’t cry, kid. We’ll keep you safe. I— I promise,” he said. The little girl turned towards him, before launching her frail body at his armor and latching on tight. Unsure of what else to do, Boil awkwardly patted her back. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Even being inadequate with his comforting, the girl slowly calmed down and Boil only had one thought. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>This is what we’re fighting for. </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>-----------------------------------------------------------------------</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Obi-Wan watched Cody carefully from where she was with Quinlan. His force signature was slightly agitated and she wasn’t sure that it was related to the assault that they had planned next. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Walking up to him, she asked, “What’s wrong?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He startled at her arrival, but recovered quickly. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Waxer and Boil haven’t checked in. It isn’t like them,” he explained. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“They never returned from scouting?” Obi-Wan asked. “Do you think they ran into trouble?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I don’t know,” Cody admitted. He turned to one of his own men. “Sargent, try to use the high powered transmitter to reach Waxer and Boil.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes sir!” Was the immediate response. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“We’re moving out!” Ounok called. Obi-Wan looked at Cody. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“If they are alright, they can catch up later,” she comforted. His face twitched up in a small half smile, and Obi-Wan could feel a slight heat rising to her face. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>She quickly moved away before he could notice the redness on her pale skin, and went back to Quinlan. Her best friend raised an eyebrow at her, and she glared at him. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Saw something you liked?” He teased. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I can still marry you off,” she threatened. “To Hondo.” But there was no denying the blush painted on her cheeks.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“You need new threats,” he grumbled, and Obi-Wan was thankful that he didn’t press the issue. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Quinlan grabbed his blaster and shoved it into a leg holster. Just from being intimately familiar with how he armored, she knew that he also had two hidden vibroblades up the sleeves of his jacket and a regular knife in his boot. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Obi-Wan had a similar kit out, but she kept her blasters out. She didn’t need to use one hand to steer the reins. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“You have any detonators?” She asked. Quin nodded and tossed her a few. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Together they hopped onto one of the blurrgs. After nearly three weeks of riding them, they had finally become comfortable with sitting on them for hours. With a call from Ounok, they began their march. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Obi-Wan tried not to stare too hard at the rubble. No matter how much time she had spent in the area, it still brought back flashes of Melida-Daan. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Some things were impossible to forget. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Still, she put it out of her mind as they moved forward. The silence of the air was only punctuated by the footsteps of both beast and man. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Quinlan and Obi-Wan stiffened at the same time. The Force screamed a warning and the ground began to rumble. Several growls were heard, and unfortunately Obi-Wan recognized the creature it belonged to. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“GUTKURRS!” She yelled. “AIM FOR THE EYES AND THE MOUTH.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Seconds later, the creatures came into view. The clones and rebels began to open fire. Obi-Wan jumped off the back of her blurrg and whipped out her vibroblades. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Blasters were useless against their hides, so she had to do this the old fashioned way. The first one attacked, and she rolled out of the way, slashing its legs. The second one she cleanly chopped off its head. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Mina! Detonators!” Quinlan yelled. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>It took her a moment to figure out what he meant. The next one that ran past her, she tossed a grenade directly into its mouth, and roundhouse kicked it in the eye, pushing it into another gutkurr. Both exploded into flesh and guts. Obi-Wan who had been nearby to the blast area was drenched. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh gross,” she muttered, shaking some blood off her hands. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>There was silence for a moment as the rest of the gutkurrs turned away from the rest of the troopers and towards the blood and fresh meat exposed. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>And also the person covered in it. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Obi-Wan had a millisecond to panic before she needed to take off running, and behind her, she could hear the entire pack chasing her. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Not my smartest idea. </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Force, she missed her armor as she ducked and rolled. Gutkurrs weren’t particularly smart, nor did they have fantastic turning skills, so agility was her best bet for staying alive. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>A claw snagged her coat, ripping part of the sleeve and cutting part of her bicep open. Growling in pain, Obi-Wan chopped off the gutkurrs arms, knowing full well that there were two more about to charge her. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>As she dodged the snapping mouths and claws, a plan began to form in her mind. Quinlan was going to kill her if the animals didn’t first, but it was the best chance of having the rest of the people survive. Using a little bit of force suggestion, she pushed them to continue following her. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Dodging to the left, rolling, and jumping, she made her way towards an alley. The close quarters would make it more difficult to maneuver, but more for the gutkurrs than her. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The moment the majority of the pack rushed in afterwards, she yelled, “COLLAPSE THE ENTRANCE!” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Blaster fire and dust.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Then quiet. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Then rampaging beasts trying to eat her. Obi-Wan used every once of skill she possessed to not get eaten or lose an arm. One roll was a little sloppier and she banged her already bleeding arm against a rock, but she was staying alive. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>In the privacy of the collapsed alleyway, she force pushed a few out of the way and stabbed any that came close. Jumping onto the back of the beasts, she hopped from one to the other, until she got close enough to the top of the barricade to jump on and scramble down onto the other side. Unfortunately, her foot slipped on a loose piece of rock and she rolled the rest of the way down. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Falling down a pile of rubble was not comfortable. Anyone who said otherwise was obviously a liar or had never had it happen to them. The Force must have been feeling kind, so she made it to the bottom without any serious damage besides a few besides a few bruised ribs. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The creatures howled in rage at the loss of their next meal, but Obi-Wan couldn’t hear them. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>She just laid on the ground, staring unblinkingly at the sky. Several people yelled out her name, but she only heard one. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Mina!” Quinlan yelled, thankfully remembering to use her alias. Obi-Wan slowly stumbled to her feet, and he grabbed her in a fierce hug that did not feel good after falling down a pile of broken rocks. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Ribs,” she wheezed. He released her and glared. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“You </span>
  <em>
    <span>idiot,”</span>
  </em>
  <span> he seethed. “You do not go charging around with a pack of staved gutkurrs on your tail!”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“It wasn’t my choice,” she protested weakly. Quinlan’s eyes narrowed, but then all of the fight left him and he hugged her again. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m glad you’re alive,” he whispered, before pulling away. “Though next time I hug you, can you not be covered in blood and a few vital organs?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Obi-Wan glanced down. It was true. Her jacket was ruined and her outfit was covered in blood, and some entrails were stuck to her shirt. The only thing that was remotely clean was the insides of her palms which had been gripping knives at the time. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“No promises,” she replied.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>That was about when she realized they had an audience. Clones were just staring at her wide-eyed and the twi’lek rebels were giving her new appreciative glances. Obi-Wan blushed a little, though it was covered by the sheer amount of gutkurr blood on her face. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The stares were cut off by the sound of movement. Obi-Wan twirled her knives into a ready position as a cover of one of the sewers opened. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Out came the two missing scouts. Obi-Wan relaxed her stance. Her arm was throbbing. She should get a bandage on that. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Waxer, Boil, where have you two slackers been?” Cody demanded as they went into a salute. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Sir, there is an explanation,” Waxer said. “We got… uh, sidetracked.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>A little twi’lek girl peeked out from behind Boil’s legs. That would do it. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The resistance fighters burst into grins seeing one of their children alive and safe.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I think we see what sidetracked you,” Ounok smiled as he dismounted his blurrg. </span>
  <em>
    <span>“Hello little one,” </span>
  </em>
  <span>he said in Ryl. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The little girl grinned, probably from seeing a fellow twi’lek, and stepped forward. </span>
  <em>
    <span>“Hi,”</span>
  </em>
  <span> she said shyly in the same tongue. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Obi-Wan felt her lips twitch at the sight, though she was starting to get a little woozy from blood loss. One of the clone scouts said something about tunnels as she fought to stay upright. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Lan,” she murmured. “Do you have a bacta patch? I kind of got sliced.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Quinlan flinched and turned to her. “Why didn’t you tell me earlier?” He growled, before taking her over to the nearest clone medic. “She needs to have her arm checked out.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The medic nodded. “Can you remove your jacket?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Obi-Wan slid off her jacket without complaint. The medic didn’t comment on any of her numerous scars, just cleaning and bandaging the wound. From a distance, she watched Quinlan rejoin the main group. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I am going to have you sit out the main assault,” the medic said. She nodded, understanding why, even if she didn’t like it. “If you need something to do, you can help me with the rest of the wounded.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Obi-Wan nodded again, still watching the group move away. Quinlan moved with the two scouts from earlier, carrying the small twi’lek girl in his arms. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>&lt;Be safe,&gt; she sent. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>&lt;You too.&gt;</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Another update!</p>
<p>This is probably the longest chapter I have ever written, though probably one of the most annoying for finding the references for the associated episode. Youtube Recommended is a rabbit hole that is all too easy to slip into. I had to remind myself several times that ‘no, I am writing this chapter, not any other episode that would be really interesting and is also right there and if i just click it, having a few minutes spent on that is not really that big of deal so maybe—oh wait I just spent fifteen minutes watching this and have written two words’.</p>
<p>That was kind of an issue. </p>
<p>MOVING ON! Codywan! I sort of wish I could have written the last scene from Cody’s perspective too, but it wouldn’t have the same effect I wanted it to have. Quinlan definitely ships it though. </p>
<p>If you’re wondering about her accent, she went back to Coruscanti to try to separate the Negotiator and Mina Brindle as much as possible. The responses to the questions were also true... from a certain point of view. Cody and the others assume that she was talking about the blockade, when it was really helping the people that tied her to staying on Ryloth. </p>
<p>Boil is in denial about being a dad, while Waxer is embracing it full out. They both deserved the opportunity to be a buir, but Palps is the worst. </p>
<p>I hope you enjoyed the little bit of background with an outsider’s perspective on Feemor and Quinlan leaving as well as a glimpse into Mace and Feemor’s friendship. (Adaniss is a made up last name because I couldn’t find out what it was and Wookieepedia was being decidedly unhelpful)</p>
<p>Ounok is an OC that will probably disappear soon and holds no real importance in the larger story. </p>
<p>I think that covers about anything. If you have any questions, you can comment and I will probably most likely respond. </p>
<p>Thanks for reading!!!!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0009"><h2>9. Chapter 9</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>While Quinlan and the two scouts went through the tunnels, the rest of the resistance and the clones led by Ounok and Commander Cody would create a diversion. While they were occupying the main forces, the small trio with the blue tagalong could get all of the twi’leks in and out undetected, before destroying the cannons. </p><p> </p><p>In theory, at least. </p><p> </p><p>What was that saying? No plan survives contact with the enemy? He had a feeling this was going to be one of those missions that would end up going sideways. </p><p> </p><p>Thankfully, Quinlan was nothing but adaptable. </p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Quinlan was reluctant to leave Obi-Wan behind, but they still needed to free the rest of the hostages.</p><p> </p><p>From the intel brought to them by the two scouts, Waxer and Boil, there was a tunnel system that would get them to the prisoners and the little girl could lead them through it. </p><p> </p><p>While Quinlan and the two scouts went through the tunnels, the rest of the resistance and the clones led by Ounok and Commander Cody would create a diversion. While they were occupying the main forces, the small trio with the blue tagalong could get all of the twi’leks in and out undetected, before destroying the cannons. </p><p> </p><p>In theory, at least. </p><p> </p><p>What was that saying? No plan survives contact with the enemy? He had a feeling this was going to be one of those missions that would end up going sideways. </p><p> </p><p>Thankfully, Quinlan was nothing but adaptable. </p><p> </p><p>The small twi’lek child tugged the sleeve of his jacket towards a certain passage and Quinlan followed her directions. </p><p> </p><p>The tiny girl reminded him of Aayla at that age. Both had been through something terrible, didn’t speak basic, and helped (or were helping) him save others.</p><p> </p><p>He still remembered that mission fondly. It was one of earlier raids they had done as a newly formed pirate crew. Liberating a large amount of spice from a group of slavers, while also having the bonus of freeing a bunch of slaves. </p><p> </p><p>Aayla had been a speck of a thing, and he had rescued her from a rampaging creature, and in turn, she had used the force to save him from a guard he hadn’t noticed. Quinlan had taken her with him after confirming she had no parents. </p><p> </p><p>The original plan had been to drop her off to the jedi the next time they had the opportunity to go all the way back to Coruscant… but then he got attached.</p><p> </p><p>Besides, the look on Obi-Wan’s face when he brought back a kid along with a hefty chunk of credits was something he wasn’t likely to ever forget.</p><p> </p><p>He snorted at the memory, drawing a few strange looks from two clones behind him. </p><p> </p><p>Up ahead, he could hear droids talking, and he pulled one of his vibroblades out of his jacket’s sleeve. Blasters would be too loud. Gently putting down the little girl, Quinlan rushed forward, decapitating two B-1’s in one fell swoop. </p><p> </p><p>The droids fell to their knees, then onto the ground. Quinlan quickly destroyed the third, sparing no chance of it raising an alarm. The tiny twi’lek ran up to him, and Quin sheathed the knife to pick her back up again, hiking her up on his hip. </p><p> </p><p><em> “Up there!” </em>The girl said in Ryl, pointing forward at a set of stairs. </p><p> </p><p>Quinlan nodded his confirmation of her words. “I am going to check it out. Make sure that she stays safe,” he ordered. Waxer and Boil nodded their confirmation. </p><p> </p><p>Handing her off to the nearest one, who swayed a little at the sudden addition, he ran forward as quickly silently as he could. He took the stairs four at a time, slowing as he reached the top.</p><p> </p><p>Peeking into the open space, Quinlan let his eyes readjust to the bright light. Lots of droids. Big cannons. Some prisoners scattered around. It wasn’t exactly promising, but still workable. </p><p> </p><p>Privately, he thought that if it had been just him and maybe an uninjured Obi-Wan and they didn’t have to worry about revealing all of their advantages, it would be a lot easier.</p><p> </p><p>It was part of the reason the Firebirds worked alone for the most part.</p><p> </p><p>This war was just a big mess, even for the people not directly involved.</p><p> </p><p>Signalling to the two clones to follow him, he began to move into the open, quickly hiding behind the base of a partially ruined statue to avoid detection. The scouts joined shortly afterwards. Quinlan waited, listening for the blaster fire that would either signal the beginning of the distraction or the collapse of the entire operation. </p><p> </p><p>Sure enough, he could hear the attack begin and the troops began to move to support the defending party. </p><p> </p><p>Nodding to his two companions, Quinlan withdrew his blaster and unsheathed his vibroblade, jumping out from behind the statue. Taking out the closest droids to him, he moved on to freeing the twi’leks while Waxer and Boil took care of the rest. </p><p> </p><p>The vibroblade cut through the bonds quickly. Soon each one was standing up, and waiting for instructions.  </p><p> </p><p><em> “Follow me,” </em> he hissed in Ryl, running back towards the entrance of the tunnel. The group didn’t hesitate to make a break for it. Quinlan ushered all of them inside as quickly as possible. </p><p> </p><p>As soon as the rest of the twi’lek’s were inside, Quinlan turned back to the separatist base. His eyes fell on the cannons, plans swirling in his head. </p><p> </p><p>“Any ideas how to take those out?” Waxer asked. The one he wanted to use clicked. </p><p> </p><p>“Yep!” Quinlan said cheerfully. “Cover me!”</p><p> </p><p>Racing towards the nearest one, he blasted any droid in his way. A single headshot took care of the one on the firing chair, and Quinlan hopped in to take its place, pushing the droid off the seat and onto the ground. </p><p> </p><p>It took him a moment to grasp how it worked, but a moment was all he needed. Quinlan pressed a few buttons that he was <em> almost </em>positive would realign the targeting system and not blow him to kingdom come. </p><p> </p><p>Sure enough, the cannon began to adjust and aim itself towards two other identical cannons that were moving to aim at him. </p><p> </p><p>“Ready!” Boil yelled. </p><p> </p><p>Quinlan didn’t hesitate to press fire. The resulting explosion knocked out both cannons at the same time. Readjusting towards the next cannon, he waited until the clones had finished putting another shell inside before firing. </p><p> </p><p>The cannon, that had also been in the process of sending a shell, tipped before exploding, sending a stray shot into the final cannon. Looking up, Quinlan managed to get a few seconds warning to jump out before a streak of red light blew up where he had just been sitting. </p><p> </p><p>The force of the explosion knocked him off balance, and he landed on the ground hard. Without his armor to cushion his fall, he was pretty sure that he had sprained or broken something. </p><p> </p><p>He started to get to his feet, but something collided with him, wrapping their arms around him. Quinlan immediately identified it as the small twi’lek girl.</p><p> </p><p><em> “What are you doing?” </em> He exclaimed in Ryl, rapidly looking for the quickest way to get her out of danger. </p><p> </p><p>That was when he noticed the tank aiming its turrent directly at him. </p><p> </p><p>“You lose,” came the mechanical voice of the tactical droid, raising a hand to presumably press fire. </p><p> </p><p>Quinlan’s eyes flicked to the small girl and all he could see was a young Aayla, bright blue and bright eyed, grinning wildly at him as she showed him her completed lightsaber. He didn’t even hesitate to wrap his body around the tiny twi’lek, praying to the Force that she would survive this, even if he wouldn’t. </p><p> </p><p>&lt;I’m sorry, Obi-Wan,&gt; he sent through the bond. He could feel his best friend start to panic even as he closed his eyes, preparing to join the force. </p><p> </p><p>But the shot never came. </p><p> </p><p>Angry shouts in Ryl filled the air. Quinlan squinted open one eye to see the group of freed twi’leks charge the tank. The tactical droid was looking around confused as the mob tore him to shreds. </p><p> </p><p>Suddenly he realized he had a child next to him. Quinlan quickly covered her eyes from the violence as it was the responsible adult thing to do, though he didn’t replace his hand when she lifted it up to watch. </p><p> </p><p>&lt;QUINLAN VOS!&gt; Obi-Wan screamed in his mind. Quinlan winced. </p><p> </p><p>&lt;Hey Obi…&gt; he tried before his best friend cut him off with a mental slap. Somehow it still stung, even if it was just in his head. </p><p> </p><p>&lt;DO NOT ‘HEY OBI’ ME RIGHT NOW!&gt; she yelled. &lt;I THOUGHT I WAS GOING TO LOSE YOU, YOU JERK!&gt;</p><p> </p><p>With that, Obi-Wan seemed to almost break and the floodgates opened. All of her worry, panic, anger, and even anguish hit him all at once and it was almost like he was drowning in it. </p><p> </p><p>Theoretically, Quinlan knew that Obi-Wan loved him more than anything in the galaxy, even with the teasing and threats. Hyperspace was blue, Tatooine had two suns, she was his and he was hers. It was just a fact of life. </p><p> </p><p>Feeling it first hand though? That made it really hit him. </p><p> </p><p>This had been by far one of the closest calls in his life.</p><p> </p><p>Sure, they had had several raids and missions go south, but Quinlan had been <em> milliseconds </em> away from being exploded to bits. </p><p> </p><p>That was enough to dull back the sarcastic quip that he wanted to fire back. </p><p> </p><p>&lt;I’m sorry,&gt; he apologized, sending comfort and calm back, trying to soothe his friend. </p><p> </p><p>&lt;You idiot man. If you do that again, I will resurrect you just to murder you all over again.&gt; Even though it was a mental connection, he could still detect the strain in her voice.</p><p> </p><p>&lt;It’s not like I could leave you,&gt; he teased, trying to lift the spirits. &lt;I’m <em> your </em> Quin and you're <em> my </em> Obi.&gt;</p><p> </p><p>For some reason, the words echoed into the Force.</p><p> </p><p>Quinlan shivered in the warm Ryloth air.</p><p> </p><p>-----------------------------------------------------------------------</p><p> </p><p>Cody didn’t know why he was hesitating outside of the medical tent. </p><p> </p><p>After seeing General Windu land his troops on the ground and start their march towards the capitol, he had decided to drop by to Helix’s domain. According to a few of the resistance fighters, Mina was still in there. </p><p> </p><p>He wanted to thank her for what she had done earlier. Intentionally trapping herself inside of an alleyway with starved gutkurrs while covered in blood and raw meat so the rest of them weren’t eaten had been a very brave act and probably saved the majority of his men from becoming monster chow. </p><p> </p><p>But he was stuck standing outside, filled with a sudden nervousness that made absolutely no logical sense. </p><p> </p><p>Taking a deep breath, Cody marshaled his illogical feelings and marched inside. </p><p> </p><p>The medical tent was a low buzz of activity. Cody looked around, and spotted a flash of red hair in the far corner and headed over there. </p><p> </p><p>Mina was talking to Helix. She was no longer completely covered in blood and her arm was bandaged while her ribs were wrapped. Cody removed his helmet and reached to tap her on the shoulder. </p><p> </p><p>Suddenly, there was a flash of movement and pain flooded his face, making him yelp in pain. The tent went silent. </p><p> </p><p>“What— oh Force, Cody! I am so sorry!” Mina cried out. Cody waved her off, and got up on the ground (Wait, when did he fall?). “I swear I didn’t mean to punch you!”</p><p> </p><p>She looked so flustered and embarrassed, Cody just shook his head. “It’s alright,” he said, waving her off. “Besides, it was my fault for startling you.”</p><p> </p><p>Behind her, Cody’s eyes met Helix’s helmet. </p><p> </p><p>Wait.</p><p> </p><p>Helix’s <em> helmet.  </em></p><p> </p><p>Helix was wearing his <em> helmet.  </em></p><p> </p><p>Helmets had constant recording features. </p><p> </p><p>“Cody, are you okay?”</p><p> </p><p>Cody startled. “Uh— yeah. I mean, of course. Sorry, could you repeat that?”</p><p> </p><p>Helix’s shoulders were shaking with suppressed laughter. That man was not going to survive the training regiments Cody had suddenly decided were necessary for the entire legion. </p><p> </p><p>Mina blinked. “Oh, I asked if you needed ice,” she repeated, her face still burning red with embarrassment. </p><p> </p><p>Cody shrugged. “I’m good. It’s alright.”</p><p> </p><p>Mina winced. “Oh Force, I am sorry. Normally I do better with people coming behind me, but—“</p><p> </p><p>“—But we have just been in a firefight, so your fighting instincts were still in play,” Cody interrupted smoothly. “I’m okay. I promise.”</p><p> </p><p>With that, her shoulder’s seemed to sag with relief. “Still, I feel bad, so can I get you some ice?”</p><p> </p><p>“It’s for your own good,” Helix added. Cody glared at him, knowing the moment he left, the medic would be posting it to every chat he knew of. The footage would be seen by the entire GAR before the day was finished. </p><p> </p><p>But still, he followed Mina towards where they kept the ice packs. She wrapped it in a towel and handed it to him. Cody gently put it on his nose, and winced slightly from the cold and the pain. </p><p> </p><p>“Out of curiosity, what did you need me for, Commander?” Mina asked a little hesitant after a minute or two of awkward silence. </p><p> </p><p>“Oh! Uh— I was going to thank you,” Cody blurted. Manda, he was bad at this. </p><p> </p><p>Mina blinked in confusion. “Thank me? Whatever for?”</p><p> </p><p>“Uh yeah,” he said a little sheepishly, before gathering up his confidence. “For what you did with the creatures before the main assault. You didn’t have to do what you did, but it saved a lot of my men. So, uh, thank you,” he finished lamely. </p><p> </p><p>“You’re welcome,” she replied with a small smile. </p><p> </p><p>They sat in silence for a few more minutes. </p><p> </p><p>“So what do you do that brings you to Ryloth so often?” Cody asked, unable to help himself. </p><p> </p><p>Mina seemed to think his question was funny. Her laugh was extremely pleasant, and even though he didn’t get the joke, Cody felt his lips turn up in a sort of half smile. </p><p> </p><p>“My job is… complicated, for lack of a better word. It's a combination of social justice work, business dealings, a great deal of aggressive negotiations, and working with some private researchers to create various technological advancements not yet available to the general public,” she explained. </p><p> </p><p>Cody lowered his ice pack to look at her. The band holding her hair let a few red strands escape and Cody was filled with a sudden urge to brush them away from her face.</p><p> </p><p>He blinked.</p><p> </p><p>Where had that come from?</p><p> </p><p>“Doesn’t sound like you live a boring life,” he commented, trying to move past… whatever that was. </p><p> </p><p>“Eh,” she shrugged. “Never liked the quiet. It makes me restless.”</p><p> </p><p>“I’m sorry that you got wrapped up in this,” Cody said, truly apologetic, Mina just waved him down, straightening up.</p><p> </p><p>“This isn’t the first, nor the worst experience I’ve had being stuck on a planet at war. I got involved then too,” she admitted.</p><p> </p><p>Cody nodded. “I thought you had been a soldier. You move like one, you know.”</p><p> </p><p>“It never leaves you,” she whispered. Cody murmured his quiet agreement. </p><p> </p><p>They both sat in companionable silence for a few minutes, until Mina turned to him.  </p><p> </p><p>“Do you have any interesting stories? I am not supposed to be doing any strenuous work due to...” she gestured to her wrapped ribs. </p><p> </p><p>Cody snorted. “Do I ever,” he grumbled good naturedly and proceeded to tell her about the time where the 212th and the 501st were both on the Maverick and all the shenanigans that ensued. </p><p> </p><p>Though he was careful to leave out planets and intel that was important to the republic, there was something compelling about talking to her. Mina would laugh at his jokes, and every time she smiled, he craved <em> more. </em>Ice pack forgotten, he talked more and more animatedly. </p><p> </p><p>“...don’t know how they did it but Hardcase and Jesse had snuck on not one, not two, but <em> three </em> tookas onto the ship! The only problem was that Admiral Yularen was allergic so—“ Cody paused as a throat cleared behind him.</p><p> </p><p>“Sorry to interrupt, but I need to talk to Mina,” Lan said. </p><p> </p><p>The Kiffar posed an intimidating figure, but when he was grimacing sheepishly at Mina’s <em> very </em> impressive raised eyebrow, he was much less so. </p><p> </p><p>“I am still mad at you,” Mina said, crossing her arms. Only a minor wince betrayed the discomfort that came with the gesture. </p><p> </p><p>“I had hoped you forgiven me already,” Lan pouted rather childishly. </p><p> </p><p>“Why would I do that?” Mina fired back. Lan rolled his eyes and Cody watched on with bemusement, even though he was missing some sort of subtext to this conversation. </p><p> </p><p>“I’m sorry to cut off your story time, but we’re moving out. We finally were able to get word from Aayla. She needs a little bit of help escorting the refugees,” Lan explained. “The Resistance leaves in ten.” </p><p> </p><p>With that, the large Kiffar left the medical tent, Mina watching him leave. Cody tried to squash down the disappointment that came along with the announcement, but without too much success. </p><p> </p><p>“I should probably go,” Mina sighed, her blue eyes looking down from staring at the exit of the tent. </p><p> </p><p>Cody nodded, if a little mournfully. Mina looked at him, and bit her lip, as if contemplating something. Without much warning, she leaned forwards and pecked his cheek. </p><p> </p><p>Cody froze. </p><p> </p><p>“Thanks… for talking to me,” she said. </p><p> </p><p>“Uh— no problem,” Cody stammered. </p><p> </p><p>Mina smiled and left, the tent flap swinging as she left. If she had turned around, she would have seen a very stunned clone Commander reaching a hand up to touch his cheek. </p><p> </p><p> -----------------------------------------------------------------------</p><p> </p><p>Maul felt a growl rumble deep in his throat.</p><p> </p><p>The convoy of transports they had been tracking had just stalled. Again. </p><p> </p><p>The insignificant machines were so inefficient, it would be a miracle if they made it to the capital within the next two weeks. He could be <em> crawling </em> and keeping pace with the hunks of metal. </p><p> </p><p>Why the Separatists invested in such useless footmen to do their dirty work was a mystery to Maul. A group of middle class bounty hunters could have done a better job, and Maul would never even <em> think </em> to use their services.</p><p> </p><p>Siri sighed beside him. “How long do you think we are going to be stopped for?” she asked, falling dramatically backwards onto the grass a couple of feet from the ridge where Maul was laying. </p><p> </p><p>“Those worthless scraps can’t tell a hydrospanner from a power-pulse monitor,” Maul grumbled. “It will probably take them until morning to figure out that the issue is a simple overheating combined with too much weight.” </p><p> </p><p>Siri snorted. “Droids.”</p><p> </p><p>“Droids,” he agreed.</p><p> </p><p>“We should probably set up camp,” Siri said, getting up. “This is going to take a while, and I’m hungry.”</p><p> </p><p>“You are in charge of food,” Maul said, also standing up.</p><p> </p><p>“Of course. We wouldn’t want a repeat of the Cliff Incident now, would we?” she snarked. Maul glowered at the unwelcome memory. </p><p> </p><p>You kick a grenade into the fire <em> one time. </em></p><p> </p><p>“That was partially your fault you know,” he fired back over his shoulder. </p><p> </p><p>If Siri had remembered to set the timer to remind him to take it off the heat, he wouldn’t have had to rush and watched his feet better. The minor landslide could have been avoided. </p><p> </p><p>Siri shrugged, as if to say <em> fair enough, </em> and moved to get the rations ready. Maul headed to their blurrgs to get their bedrolls and fire starting material.</p><p> </p><p>They had already done this over a dozen times. Building and breaking camp was efficient and very fast. Besides, there wasn’t much to do besides set out their sleeping materials and start a fire. </p><p> </p><p>They both sat on the rocks in silence while they were waiting for their meal to cook. </p><p> </p><p>“So…” Siri started. “What’s new?”</p><p> </p><p>Maul gave her a look. “We have been traveling together, spending nearly every waking hour together for almost a month, and you ask me <em> what’s new?” </em></p><p> </p><p>Siri held up her hands. “I’m not skilled at conversation,” she defended. “Besides, the only thing we haven’t talked about is… I don’t know, Alderaanian Haikus? I doubt you know anything about them, though.” </p><p> </p><p>Maul lifted an eyebrow marking in challenge.</p><p> </p><p>Maul was a warrior first and foremost. His horns were sharp. His skills were honed. All that opposed him should cower and despair. </p><p> </p><p>That didn’t mean he had significant abilities in the classical arts. He would be a fool not to. </p><p> </p><p>Sidious had instructed him with finer things, such as poetry and art. A Sith in politics </p><p>was supposed to be classy, and even if Maul had never progressed past being an assassin before his untimely ‘death’, it didn’t hurt to be prepared for the future. </p><p> </p><p>“Haikus are refined/Something you have always lacked/Uncultured child,” he said smugly. </p><p> </p><p>Siri counted on her fingers the syllables, and his blond partner’s jaw dropped as she sputtered with indignation. </p><p> </p><p>“I will have you know/I was top of poetry/Jedi were amazed,” she fired back, glaring. </p><p> </p><p>“Were you trained by Sith?/My master was from Naboo/Politician too,” Maul retorted. </p><p> </p><p>For Force’s sake, Naboo had <em> legitimate </em>fashion crimes. He had discovered this fact when trying to find a reason to get Palpatine arrested, but the snake was always impeccable. </p><p> </p><p>“The temple is art/Have you not seen it? Oh wait/you weren’t a jedi,” Siri snapped, though her eyes were glittering with the challenge. </p><p> </p><p>Maul snorted. “Why would I want that?/Jedi are weak and pithy/Red’s superior.”</p><p> </p><p>“Are you kidding me?/Get your eyes checked mister/blond is the best...est,” she finished awkwardly. Maul raised an eyebrow. </p><p> </p><p>“Would you look at that/Grammar is not your strong suit/Stick to the rifle.” Siri glared. </p><p> </p><p>“You are gonna pay/Just watch me destroy you, Maul/You will beg for mercy,” she growled. </p><p> </p><p>“Ah ah ah,” Maul chided, smirking with victory. “That was six.”</p><p> </p><p>“Wait,” she muttered, recounting the syllables. “No, that was— dang it! I meant to say you’ll!” Siri groaned. </p><p> </p><p>“Better luck next time,” Maul said condescendingly. “I mean, not everyone can be—“</p><p> </p><p>“I think our food is ready!” Siri interrupted, glaring at him. “So this conversation is <em> over.” </em></p><p> </p><p>She stood up and stalked over to where the rations were heating up. Maul watched her go, filled with a sense of self satisfaction. Grabbing his binocs, he peered over the edge of the protected ridge and lifted them up to his eyes.</p><p> </p><p>It wasn’t surprising. The dimwitted droids were still trying to figure out the problem.  Without any specialized mechanical droids, he should be able to get several hours of sleep. </p><p> </p><p>“Catch!” Siri called, throwing something at him. </p><p> </p><p>It was only through his force instincts that he caught the projectile before it hit his horns. Said projectile was a bread roll, and Maul began to eat gratefully. Chewing was a distraction from what would probably prove to be hours of boredom. </p><p> </p><p>Siri came by with two bowls filled with the rest of the rations and sat down on <em> his </em> bed roll. Maul gave her the stink eye, but the only response was a knowing smirk. Putting his food to the side, Maul picked her up bridal style, ignoring the squawk of indignation, and dropped her on rear onto her own bed roll. </p><p> </p><p>“Don’t go on mine,” he snapped. </p><p> </p><p>“So territorial,” Siri pouted, but she didn’t move back, going criss-cross applesauce and began to eat. </p><p> </p><p>The silence stretched between them as they ate their meal. Maul saw Siri’s bouncing knee and felt her boredom in the Force and knew it was a matter of time before she broke it.</p><p> </p><p>Sure enough. She didn’t even last five minutes. </p><p> </p><p>“What do you think is Sidious’ game plan?” She asked, putting aside her food for the moment. </p><p> </p><p>Maul considered the question. </p><p> </p><p>It was clear from the beginning of the war that Sidious was playing both sides. Count Dooku, or Darth Something, was clearly Palpatine’s new apprentice. It wouldn’t make sense for Sidious to pit himself against himself, so there had to be something else going on. </p><p> </p><p>The only big change in the playing field was the clones, and something was telling him that they were involved, willingly or not.</p><p> </p><p>When he voiced his thoughts, Siri tilted her head. “Do you think it's strange that he chose such an… elderly apprentice?”</p><p> </p><p>“Well, yes,” Maul said. “I mean, when he started training me, I was barely into my adolescence.”</p><p> </p><p>It had not been pleasant. It had taken the majority of the decade spent with the Firebirds to get over a lot of the residual trauma and fear that was associated with it. </p><p> </p><p>Luckily (but not that luckily), they had had plenty of experience with childhood trauma. </p><p> </p><p>Siri hummed and turned back to her meal. “Do you think Dooku is just a means to an end?”</p><p> </p><p>“Obviously,” Maul responded without hesitation. “Sidious only has pawns.”</p><p> </p><p>That was another thing he had learned after joining the crew. After they had pulled him out of the reactor pits and healed the stomach wound that very nearly cut him in half, he had had a lot of time for contemplation.</p><p> </p><p>With a little guidance from Aayla, though she had been barely old enough to throw a knife with adequate accuracy, he had come to realize several important things about his Master. </p><p> </p><p>Her incessant questioning at that age was good for something, Maul supposed. </p><p> </p><p>“So… Dooku is a placeholder?” Siri confirmed. </p><p> </p><p>“I didn’t say— actually…” Maul paused, turning the idea over in his head. The more he thought about it, the more it made sense. “I think that is exactly Dooku’s role,” he realized. </p><p> </p><p>“Then who is going to take his place?”</p><p> </p><p>The question bothered him for the rest of the night.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Semi-consistent updates? What dark magic is this?</p><p>First and foremost, Quinlan and Obi-Wan are NOT romantic partners in this AU, but if you did pick up on some minor possessiveness, you would be correct. If you picked up on something ominous tied to that... no comment. </p><p>I am not exactly sure of how Quinlan met Aayla in canon, so I left it purposefully vague. Maybe I will get around to getting a more detailed backstory, but that is for future me to think about. </p><p>When Mace Windu arrives, the 91st (I think that is his legion) starts out immediately. He doesn’t go near the tent or the camp and therefore doesn’t sense Obi-Wan or Quinlan. </p><p>NEXT! Codywan! Yes, she does punch him in the face (He probably should have removed his helmet a second later). Yes, the video has been spread to all of Cody’s brothers. Yes, Cody couldn’t stop blushing for several hours after she leaves. Yes, they will meet again, though it won’t be for some time. </p><p>Right now, Cody does not connect that the Negotiator and Mina are one in the same due to several reasons. 1) according to the jedi, the Pirate Queen is never without her mask 2)Where is the rest of her crew 3) Her accent difference 4)the ‘plausible’ back story. For the moment at least, he hasn’t connected the dots.</p><p>Not sure how well I did Maul’s POV, but it was fun for me. Siri and Maul have been alone together for almost three/four weeks, so they are getting really REALLY bored, hence the Haiku battle. Also some idea of what Sidious’s battle plan is. The ‘Naboo fashion crimes’ was inspired by this fic I can’t remember the name of, but I think it was part of a “Palpatine gets rekt” series. If you find it, I highly recommend. It was very enjoyable.  </p><p>That’s all for today! Thanks for the comments and kudos! Have a great day!</p><p>UP NEXT: we got some Mace Windu coming right up with a little bit of a time skip (still on Ryloth though)</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0010"><h2>10. Chapter 10</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>This begins about two weeks after the last chapter</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Mace jerked as the walker he was in gave a shudder and tipped. </p><p> </p><p>Traveling on the cliff road had been the only way to the capitol, but with virtually no cover, it left them exposed to the tanks across the gorge. </p><p> </p><p>Bursting out of the top hatch, he wasted no time organizing his men. </p><p> </p><p>“Take cover!” He ordered, while he himself went towards the front of the walker. </p><p> </p><p>Placing a hand on the glass that had trapped their pilot, he concentrated, summoning up the force. The glass cracked around his fingers and fell with a loud crash. </p><p> </p><p>Mace snatched the pilot from the inside and threw the unconscious form over his shoulder. He needed to get his trooper out of the line of fire and fast. </p><p> </p><p>As he ran, dodging the continued blasts, he tried to figure out how they were going to approach this issue. They needed to take out the tanks so their walkers could continue forward, but the only way to do so was to—</p><p> </p><p>“We’re pinned down!” Ponds yelled. </p><p> </p><p>“Commander, bring out the Lightning Squadron!” Mace called over the explosions and falling rubble. </p><p> </p><p>Mace’s ever faithful commander wasted no time in following his orders. “I want Lightning up here now!” He barked into the comm. </p><p> </p><p>Even from a distance, Mace could hear the clanking of the AT-RT’s as they made their way from the back of the group to Mace’s position. </p><p> </p><p>“Get the engine back!” He ordered. “I’m going to clear the road.”</p><p> </p><p>Leaving the injured clone pilot safely tucked behind a pile of rock, Mace moved out of cover and in front of the walker. Summoning up as much strength as he could, he pushed the broken transport off the cliff and into the canyon below. </p><p> </p><p>He could hear Ponds shouting orders, but his focus was on the approaching AT-RT’s. One of the ARF troopers saluted as they stopped in front of him. </p><p> </p><p>“It’s all yours, General,” they said as they hopped down from the AT-RT. </p><p> </p><p>Mace quickly switched places with the trooper, and started up the machine. </p><p> </p><p>“We’ll lead the way, Commander,” Mace said, right before he shot forward. </p><p> </p><p>This battle had already been costly enough. They couldn’t afford any more casualties, so taking out the tanks so the walkers could go the rest of the way in peace was a top priority. </p><p> </p><p>The AT-RT’s were fast and before long, the once narrow, winding road opened up into a field that connected to the area where the tanks were. </p><p> </p><p>Expertly avoiding the bombardment from the artillery, Mace charged forwards. He fired at the battle droids and with his men, made quick work of the tanks. </p><p> </p><p>Seeing the quiet, no longer battlefield, Mace dismounted from his AT-RT. Ponds was there next to him, having also grabbed an AT-RT. </p><p> </p><p>“How many did we lose?” He murmured. </p><p> </p><p>“32, I think, including three command crews of walkers” Ponds admitted. “The good news is that Commander Cody has been busy since we saw him last and broke their lines. We have a clear path straight to the capitol now.”</p><p> </p><p>Mace felt his grief for the loss of his men echo in the force before letting it go. </p><p> </p><p>“This battle was costly,” he said out loud. “We’re going to need help to take the city.”</p><p> </p><p>And he already had an idea of where to get it. </p><p> </p><p>Or rather, who. </p><p> </p><p>“Sir!” A trooper called out. Mace turned towards him, taking a moment to figure out which of the new transfers it was. </p><p> </p><p>“What is it, Deck?” Mace asked. </p><p> </p><p>The shiny stopped in front of him.</p><p> </p><p>“The war council on the comm,” Deck reported. “We set up the display in the back of AT-TE 4.”</p><p> </p><p>Mace thanked the private before jogging to the specified transport. Any information at this stage was important. Besides, they would be expecting an update on his progress. </p><p> </p><p>Climbing up the side and jumping down through the top hatch, Mace straightened before entering the holo’s range. Skywalker was already present, along with Chancellor Palpatine, Master Yoda, Admiral Yularen, and Senator Orn Free Taa. </p><p> </p><p><em> “What’s your progress, Skywalker?” </em> The Chancellor was saying. </p><p> </p><p><em> “My fighters have secured control of the space around Ryloth. We have the Separatist Cruisers on the run,” </em> Knight Skywalker reported immediately. </p><p> </p><p>Mace nodded absentmindedly as the Chancellor congratulated Skywalker and the young knight winked out. Stepping forward, he delivered his own report. </p><p> </p><p>“Commander Cody and General Jinn—“ though it was mainly the Commander doing the work “—have been busy taking the Jixuan Desert, so the Southern Hemisphere is ours,” he said, gesturing to the indicated areas on the holomap. </p><p> </p><p>It had been a long two weeks of fighting for the 212th battalion. He was immensely proud of them for making it so far without jedi aid. It almost hurt not to give Commander Cody more of the credit. </p><p> </p><p>Things had been proceeding much faster than expected though. It seemed like much of their work had been done for them. </p><p> </p><p><em> “Then, it’s almost over,” </em> Senator Taa sighed in relief. </p><p> </p><p>If only it could be that simple. </p><p> </p><p>“Not yet,” Mace corrected. He changed the projection to the city that would be his next objective. “The key position is the capital of Lessu. Our spies are certain the separatist leader Wat Tambor has his command center there.”</p><p> </p><p><em> “When taken the city we have, capture Tambor we must,” </em> Master Yoda said firmly. </p><p> </p><p>Mace shook his head slightly. “It’s not going to be easy, Master. Tambor has chosen his strong hold well. This plasma bridge is the only way in or out.”</p><p> </p><p>He knew because he had studied every inch of the city, trying to find some other weakness to exploit, but there was none. </p><p> </p><p><em> “I’m afraid a siege could drag on indefinitely,” </em>Chancellor Palpatine sighed, and Mace fought back the urge to shudder at his greasy politician’s voice. </p><p> </p><p><em> “My people have suffered so much already,” </em> Senator Taa protested. </p><p> </p><p><em> “A plan you have to take the city, Master Windu, hmm?” </em> Master Yoda asked. </p><p> </p><p>This was the tricky part. Mace had an idea, but he knew it was going to be a hard sell, especially with the politicians in the room. </p><p> </p><p>Mace nodded. “With our forces stretched so thinly, I am going to enlist the help of the Freedom Fighters, led by Cham Syndulla. His fight against the droids has made him a symbol of freedom for the people.”</p><p> </p><p><em> “Cham Syndulla was a radical before the war,” </em> Chancellor Palpatine said. <em> “He’s very unpredictable.” </em></p><p> </p><p>That wasn’t… exactly true. From what Mace had seen, Syndulla had caused a lot of problems for the Republic, allying with a few unsavory characters instead of Senate aid in the hope of helping his people. </p><p> </p><p>It had worked, against all odds. How he had managed to wrangle a deal out of pirates and have them stick to it was still a mystery to Mace, but there was no reason to deny that the system was effective. </p><p> </p><p>And, with the new slave abolition, Ryloth had finally been prospering. The Senate had just not appreciated the planet’s new self reliance and lack of control it suddenly had over the ryll ore. </p><p> </p><p><em> “He can’t be trusted!” </em> Senator Taa exclaimed. <em> “I know Syndulla seeks to gain power. We were political rivals.” </em></p><p> </p><p>“I’ll leave the politics to you, Senator,” Mace interrupted smoothly. <em> “I’m </em> going to do whatever I can to help these people.”</p><p> </p><p><em> “Perhaps we could send you Republic reinforcements instead,” </em> Chancellor Palpatine suggested. </p><p> </p><p><em> “There are no reinforcements available, Chancellor,” </em> Admiral Yularen said, speaking for the first time in the entire conversation, proving Mace’s point. </p><p> </p><p>“We can’t win without Syndulla’s help,” Mace repeated. The Chancellor gave a commiserating sigh, but Mace knew that he had won. </p><p> </p><p><em> “We eagerly await to hear about your progress,” </em>the elderly man said before disconnecting from the call. Senator Taa, Admiral Yularen, and Master Yoda followed quickly. </p><p> </p><p>The moment he was alone, Mace let out the air he was holding and put his head in his hands, attempting to rub away some of the tiredness that had just hit him. Dealing with politicians was sometimes more exhausting than forward frontal assault. </p><p> </p><p>Taking a few moments to compose himself, he reached into the Force, letting its waves wash over him. Mace furrowed his brows as he felt an unusual sensation. Was the… was the force <em> giggling? </em></p><p> </p><p>It was the strangest thing, but it was the only way to describe it. The Force was excited… giddy even, and he couldn’t figure out for his life why. It was like a small child bouncing up and down. </p><p> </p><p>Putting it out of his mind, at least for the moment, Mace climbed out of the AT-TE and headed towards Commander Ponds. </p><p> </p><p>“I am going to need two men to come with me to find Syndulla,” he said, falling in step with his Commander. Ponds nodded. </p><p> </p><p>“We’ll meet you at the capitol,” he replied easily. </p><p> </p><p>Mace internally smiled. It was nice to have someone he could so readily rely on again. </p><p> </p><p>-----------------------------------------------------------------------</p><p> </p><p>Crashed tanks and destroyed parts were scattered across the plains. Cham could see the droids coming from a distance. Their movements contrasted starkly with the motionless old battlefield. </p><p> </p><p>There were no bodies, despite the ruins. He had made sure each one was given a proper burial. </p><p> </p><p>The droids weren’t going to be here for a few minutes, so he could wait until they had arrived to begin the ambush. His comm beeped, and Cham flipped open the message. </p><p> </p><p>A miniaturized Feemor completely covered in the typical Firebird regalia appeared in his palm. </p><p> </p><p><em> “I met up with Siri and Maul. We should be back within the hour,” </em> the pirate reported. <em> “The transports carrying the treasure broke down a few times, but from what we can tell, Wat Tambor received an evacuation order, and he is waiting to bring all of it with him. By my calculation, he should be leaving at about sun high tomorrow.” </em></p><p> </p><p>Cham growled at the thought of the Techno Union scum taking all of their valuables with him. </p><p> </p><p>“I will meet you at base as soon as we finish here,” he replied. “We’ll need to move quickly in order to take the city before he leaves.”</p><p> </p><p>Feemor nodded and exited the holo. Cham sighed, refocusing his binocs. They had a time limit now before Tambor would be out of reach. </p><p> </p><p>Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed white movement near the grave sight. </p><p> </p><p>
  <em> Clones.  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>Cham grumbled some choice words under his breath. </p><p> </p><p>“Over there,” he said out loud, pointing to the oncoming republic envoy. </p><p> </p><p>The rest of his men nodded, spotting them as well. They weren’t exactly subtle, with their big, clanking walkers that made noise with every step. From the looks of it, it was a Korun in traditional jedi attire and two scouts coming towards them.</p><p> </p><p>It was unfortunate that the Firebirds were out of the base at the moment. </p><p> </p><p>This would be interesting. </p><p> </p><p>Coming out his musings, he concentrated on the jedi and the droids that were coming across the plains and about to converge on their position. </p><p> </p><p>From his perch with the binocs, Cham could see the jedi and his two clone companions had dismounted their walkers to hide behind a fallen Separatist tank. The droids briefly turned towards their position, but continued forwards. </p><p> </p><p>Cham prepared his blaster as the metal murderers came closer.</p><p> </p><p><em> Now </em> he signaled. </p><p> </p><p>With a war cry, all of his men began to fire from their hiding spot, demolishing each and every one of the droids, before retreating quickly. </p><p> </p><p>The jedi appeared over the ridge, lightsaber ignited. It was an unusual color, purple if he was not mistaken. Cham signaled a few of his warriors to go around the sides and surround the trio. </p><p> </p><p>Taking a breath, he stood up again, walking forward into plain view of the jedi. </p><p> </p><p>“I was wondering when you’d find me, Master Jedi,” he called. </p><p> </p><p>“General Syndulla,” the jedi said. “I’ve come for your help.”</p><p> </p><p>“What makes you think you’ll get it?” Cham challenged, crossing his arms across his chest. </p><p> </p><p>“We have a common interest,” the jedi replied. “We both want to see Ryloth free.”</p><p> </p><p>Cham considered it. Accepting the Republic’s help meant greater numbers when they attacked the capital. On the other hand, there was a reason that he had advised his Queen not to form an alliance. </p><p> </p><p>He needed to consult the rest of the Firebirds before making a decision. </p><p> </p><p>“Follow us,” he said. “But turn over your weapons first.”</p><p> </p><p>He wasn’t going to take any chances for betrayal. </p><p> </p><p>The jedi handed over his lightsaber without complaint and the two clones followed suit. The trio of republic soldiers didn’t complain as they were marched forwards as the sun began to disappear beneath the distant horizon. </p><p> </p><p>The ruins of the ships cast strange shadows across the dirt as the sun lowered. Cham didn’t like it very much. Even after weeks and weeks of this, it still managed to unnerve him. </p><p> </p><p>They walked in silence to the entrance of the base, cleverly hidden by a broken droid drop ship. Cham nodded a greeting the guard on duty and they were let through without complaint. </p><p> </p><p>As the group passed the gutkurr cages, the jedi spoke up. </p><p> </p><p>“Some hideout you have here,” he commented. </p><p> </p><p>“It has advantages,” Cham replied noncommittally. </p><p> </p><p>There were actually many more of these hidden all around the planet. Obi-Wan, Quinlan, and Aayla had been evacuating many of his people to underground bases after freeing the towns. Any volunteers from the refugee groups to join the Freedom Fighters would be equipped and organized within the chain of command.</p><p> </p><p>Speaking of which, Cham remembered that the trio should be arriving back to the main camp in the morning after they cleared out the villages nearby to their position. They would want everyone for the main assault tomorrow.</p><p> </p><p>They continued on in silence until the jedi felt the need to fill it again. </p><p> </p><p>“We saw the graves of your people in that battle field as well. Together, we can prevent that from happening again,” the jedi said. </p><p> </p><p>Cham almost laughed. After years of debates and arguing with the Negotiator herself, the Jedi’s attempt to convince his was almost juvenile by comparison. </p><p> </p><p>“Do you know why there wasn’t a hillside of graves, Master Jedi?” Cham asked. “The Republic was unable to help us. In our attempt to flee and regroup, we were nearly massacred. The only thing that kept us from being destroyed was the forethought to ask for alternative forms of help.”</p><p> </p><p>“You are referring to the pirate crew,” the jedi replied, more of a statement then a question. </p><p> </p><p>Cham needed to figure out how he knew that, but didn’t let the surprise cross his face. </p><p> </p><p>“Yes, right as we were about to be exterminated, we were granted the aid of two of the Queen’s crew,” he said. “They offered help because I asked, and when this nightmare is over, I know they will leave.”</p><p> </p><p>With that, he walked into the main atrium of the camp. Cham knelt as his daughter, Hera, ran up to him. He picked her up and spun her in the air, and held her close, relishing the physical reminder that she was still alive and okay. </p><p> </p><p>Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed one of his men approaching. Placing Hera on his hip, Cham turned to them. It was Gobi. The man was holding his arm carefully. </p><p> </p><p>“What is this?” Cham asked. “A scratch?” Placing a comforting hand on his shoulder, he looked directly into Gobi’s eyes. “Gobi, get better. I need you.”</p><p> </p><p><em> “Thank you,” </em> Gobi responded in Ryl, before walking off. </p><p> </p><p>Turning back to the jedi, Cham looked at him. “We have little food or drink, but it is our tradition to share what we do have with our guests,” he said. </p><p> </p><p>The jedi nodded his agreement and together they walked towards one of the open seating areas. </p><p> </p><p>Several people began to pass around the rations for the day. In the center of their circle, the dancers began their nightly performance.</p><p> </p><p>“I hope you don’t mind this,” Cham said, gesturing to the dancers. “A little distraction goes a great way to ease the burden of the war on my men.”</p><p> </p><p>“You have provided well for your men, all your people,” the jedi replied. “So why won’t you help me free them from this occupation?”</p><p> </p><p>Cham shook his head. It was never that straight forward. </p><p> </p><p>“I don’t trust Senator Taa,” he explained. “His plans for our world after the war.”</p><p> </p><p>“The Republic will help you rebuild. We won’t abandon you,” the jedi said, but that wasn’t the problem. </p><p> </p><p>“Your troops will stay for security?” Cham asked harshly. </p><p> </p><p>“For a while,” the jedi admitted. “To keep the peace.”</p><p> </p><p>“Another armed occupation is not a free Ryloth. How long before I am fighting <em> you, </em>Master Jedi?” There was silence for a moment before Cham added, “I trust in the aid I have, but they will decide if we take yours.”</p><p> </p><p>The Jedi’s brows vaguely furrowed, but his comm beeped. The Korun pressed a button and the holo of a helmetless clone trooper appeared in his palm. </p><p> </p><p>“What is it, Commander?” The jedi asked. </p><p> </p><p><em> “The droids—“ </em> the clone hesitated before continuing his report. <em> “—have begun a firebombing campaign. Several villages in our sector have been destroyed, sir.” </em></p><p> </p><p>Cham felt the news hit him like a bucket of ice water. Obi-Wan had been going to those towns on the way here. Those villages were going to have been evacuated <em>tonight</em> <em> . </em> They had been too late by <em>hours</em>.</p><p> </p><p>They couldn’t afford any more delay. </p><p> </p><p>“Make the arrangements,” he murmured. “We will speak to Senator Taa.”</p><p> </p><p>The jedi nodded, and they stood up, heading to the nearest holo projector. </p><p> </p><p>Suddenly, excited whispers began to fill the room as a trip footsteps echoed from the entrance into the base. Cham turned around just in time to see three of the masked pirates enter. Judging by the builds, he could tell it was Feemor, Maul, and Aayla. </p><p> </p><p>Cham sighed in relief.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> Just in time.  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>“My friends, it’s good to see you again,” Cham said, reaching out a hand to grasp Feemor’s forearm. </p><p> </p><p>“You too, Cham,” Feemor said, returning the greeting. </p><p> </p><p>Then they noticed the jedi. </p><p> </p><p>-----------------------------------------------------------------------</p><p> </p><p>He couldn’t move. All his joints locked in place.</p><p> </p><p>For a moment, it felt like Feemor had stopped breathing. </p><p> </p><p>
  <em> That was Mace.  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>Mace was standing <em> right in front of him.  </em></p><p> </p><p>
  <em> When deprived of oxygen, the rate of the heart slows down to conserve its resources. </em>
</p><p> </p><p>This wasn’t some random general. This was his friend. His companion. His confidant. </p><p> </p><p>And Feemor couldn’t make a noise. </p><p> </p><p>Behind him, he could feel Maul stiffen and Siri flare with recognition, but Feemor couldn’t do anything. </p><p> </p><p>Mace was standing there and Feemor just stared, frozen in <strike><em>fear</em> <em>surprise</em> <em>hope</em></strike> shock. </p><p> </p><p>Age had been kind on him, though there were new stress lines that had not been there before. He still stood just as tall and proud as ever, never yielding. </p><p> </p><p>
  <em> The Traffic Division on Coruscant was a police branch of the Coruscant Security Force charged with monitoring the skylanes.  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>It hurt like nothing else that Mace was staring at him with such distrust, even if Feemor knew the logical reason why. </p><p> </p><p>“My friends, we were about to negotiate for the Republic’s help in taking back the capital,” Cham said, interrupting his thoughts. </p><p> </p><p>Feemor flinched, locking down every thought and feeling related to seeing his old friend and shoved it to the side, burying it until he could deal with it later. </p><p> </p><p>“Of— of course,” he replied. </p><p> </p><p>Mace raised an eyebrow. </p><p> </p><p>“Doesn’t this violate your neutrality?” He asked, and it was like daggers in his chest to be on the receiving end of such wary distrust. </p><p> </p><p>“No,” Maul interjected smoothly, because Feemor couldn’t move his mouth. “We are defending Ryloth against unwelcome invaders, not fighting with the Republic against the Separatist. There’s a difference.”</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> The Confederacy of Independent Systems was divided into three branches: Legislative (Separatist Parliament), Executive (Separatist Council), and Military (Confederacy Military). </em>
</p><p> </p><p>“Besides, it’s under our jurisdiction,” Siri added. “Now… holocall?”</p><p> </p><p>They proceeded towards the tent, though it felt like someone else was guiding his legs to move forward to follow after the group. Even behind the mask, Feemor could feel Siri and Maul giving him identical concerned looks. </p><p> </p><p>&lt;You okay, Fee?&gt; Siri asked hesitantly.</p><p> </p><p>&lt;I will be,&gt; Feemor responded neutrally. </p><p> </p><p>
  <em> The infinite lizard-monkey theorem says that a lizard-monkey hitting keys on a datapad keyboard for an infinite amount of time would almost surely recreate any given text, including the works of Whill-am Shaeckspeer. </em>
</p><p> </p><p> Mace placed a transmitter onto the projector and the image of Senator Taa appeared. </p><p> </p><p>Feemor was grateful for the mask to hide his displeasure of seeing the oversized twi’lek who was clearly taking advantage of the luxury of living in the center of the Republic. </p><p> </p><p>“Senator Taa, so glad you could join us from comfortable Coruscant,” Cham said, poorly hiding his disgust of the man. “Our people have survived with only me.”</p><p> </p><p><em> “I knew you would try to turn this into a campaign to take power!” </em>Taa accused. Through the Force, he could feel Siri’s repressed eye roll, though Feemor was paying more attention to Mace. </p><p> </p><p>His old friend was restraining himself with remarkable prowess, and to the untrained eye, it would seem as if he was perfectly calm, but even after so many years, Feemor had not forgotten how to read Mace Windu. </p><p> </p><p>The twitch in his fingers, the subtle stiffness in his shoulders, the look in his eye… Mace didn’t like the senator. That much was clear. Feemor was glad to find they still shared at least one of the same opinions. </p><p> </p><p><em> “Need I remind you that it is I who leads our people in the Senate?” </em> Taa was saying pompously. </p><p> </p><p>“And it is I who leads our people here and now,” Cham spat back. </p><p> </p><p>“Boys!” Siri interrupted. “Save the cat fights for later when we aren’t trying to be civil.”</p><p> </p><p>Taa's full body flinched. He seemed to notice the rest of the group for the first time. His pudgy eyes took in the various pirates. </p><p> </p><p><em> “What?” </em> He gasped. <em> “You did not tell me they would be here!” </em></p><p> </p><p>“Yes, yes,” Maul said, waving off his startled exclamation. “Please pardon the Queen’s absence, but we are here on her behalf.”</p><p> </p><p><em> “The— the Queen?” </em> Taa stuttered, something akin to fear filling his eyes. They should look into that later.  </p><p> </p><p>“Yes. The <em> Queen,” </em> Feemor emphasized, finding his voice. “Now may we cut the chase? Time is forever in motion, and I’d hate to be left behind.” </p><p> </p><p>Mace gave him a strange look, and he internally cursed. It was a phrase he had often used in his friend’s company, but unfortunately, Mace would not be looking for decades missing jedi. </p><p> </p><p>
  <em> All Koruns are Force Sensitive to some degree and used it to bind themselves to akk dogs and grassers.  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>Another wrist comm beeped, and Feemor knew from a preliminary check of his HUD that it wasn’t his. </p><p> </p><p>Mace pressed a button on his gauntlet, and the voice of Skywalker filled the small room. </p><p> </p><p>
  <em> “General Windu! Do you copy?” </em>
</p><p> </p><p>“I hear you, Skywalker,” was the quick response.</p><p> </p><p><em> “My fighters are taking out the bombers as fast as they can Master Windu, but there are just too many,” </em> Skywalker said hurriedly. The sound of blaster fire came through the background audio. <em> “I doubt we can stop them all. I suggest you get the people away from the cities.” </em></p><p> </p><p>Bombers.</p><p> </p><p>Feemor was an idiot.</p><p> </p><p>How could he have forgotten air support? All of their battles had been on the ground and bombers didn’t affect underground bunkers, so they hadn’t needed to consider it.</p><p> </p><p>“You must destroy those bombers, Skywalker,” Mace ordered. His voice was firm, but the underlying strains revealed the stress and worry. “Then meet me at the capital.”</p><p> </p><p><em> “I’ll do what I can,” </em>was the response before Skywalker ended the comm call. </p><p> </p><p>There was silence as they all contemplated this new information. Senator Taa broke it first. </p><p> </p><p><em> “What can the Separatists hope to gain from burning our homes?” </em>He said, wringing his pudgy hands together. </p><p> </p><p>“Nothing,” Cham spat. “Wat Tambor spoils for others what he cannot possess.”</p><p> </p><p><em> “Then we must act quickly!” </em> Taa announced. </p><p> </p><p>Feemor rolled his eyes, relieved that the mask was covering his expressions. Thank goodness he was no longer in the days of his early knighthood when he was a diplomatic counselor. </p><p> </p><p>“Your people are hesitant to join us because they’re worried there will be another military occupation,” Mace said, cutting in. </p><p> </p><p><em> “The people… have my promise that the clone army will leave once Ryloth is free of those droids!” </em>proclaimed Taa. </p><p> </p><p>“We will keep you to your word,” Maul said. The oversized twi’lek flinched at the reminder that they were still there. </p><p> </p><p>“General,” Mace interjected with all the practice that came with working with stubborn politicians. “What assurance can you give Senator Taa you will not try to assume power?”</p><p> </p><p>Feemor nearly snorted. Cham was a man of his word, and his first priority had always been his people. </p><p> </p><p>“I only want to see my people free, Master Jedi,” Cham said, if a little melancholy. “I give my word,” he decided.</p><p> </p><p>“Then we are together in this,” Mace said, and Feemor’s lips twitched. His friend had always had a penchant for the dramatics. </p><p> </p><p>“Now that’s settled, we have an assault to plan out and only a couple hours left to do so,” Feemor announced. “Ryloth will be free.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>ANOTHER CHAPTER!!!</p><p>We only have one more chapter on Ryloth before we start getting into the bigger and better things....</p><p>Soooooo...... what do I have to say here?</p><p>Me being me, I chose the POV of three characters that are the absolute worst to get into their headset. Still, I hope they turned out okay and that I did them justice. If not, well, hopefully the next chapter is better? Idk. </p><p>Anyway, I love Mace Windu. In the ‘No permanent republic occupation and no seeking power moment’, he reminds me of that mom that is like “Okay, we need to share, so Tommy can have this toy for five minutes, and then Jack can have it for five minutes. Sound good?” To be honest, politicians often do remind me of misbehaving children. </p><p>Wookieepedia is literally the best thing in the world. Whoever invented it has my undying appreciation.</p><p>We will be getting back to Obi-Wan and the rest of the group, so fear not. They are still alive and kicking. As mentioned, they had a separate job to do. They didn’t want to run the risk of the people getting recaptured again, so the underground bases became refugee camps for most people, and also an area for the volunteer rebels to operate from. </p><p>I think that is all for now, so thanks for the Kudos and Comments! If you have any questions, you can leave them in the comments.</p><p>Have a great day!!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
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